Careful What You Wish For
by Sweet Country Girl
Summary: When I planned to spend my summer vacation at my grandma's place, along with my two friends, I had wished for us to go on some kind of adventure. That didn't mean that I wanted us to get tossed into another dimension and become part of a prophecy. EdXOC. Important note at the end of the last chapter posted.
1. Prologue

**Just a quick note before I start. The story takes place seven years after Prince Caspian, but the Pevensies were allowed to stay in Narnia. So, Peter would be 21, Susan would be 20, Edmund would be 18 and Lucy would be 17 and Prince Caspian would be 21. For Prince Caspian, I am just guessing his age. Now, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs to C.S. Lewis.**

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><p><strong>Careful What You Wish For<strong>

**Prologue **

Crazy. Completely and utterly bat-shit crazy. That is the only way to describe my actions at this point.

Shifting my sword, so that I had a better grip on it in case I needed to use it, I peeked around the corner to see if the coast was clear. Of course, this is me we're talking about here, and I have about as much luck as the rabbit that lost its foot. There were two guards; lovely. Quickly yanking my head back, I held my breath, hoping beyond hope that neither of them had noticed me. Not hearing any footsteps, I quietly snuck back to where Jenn was waiting.

_Aslan, this is all your fault. Okay, well, maybe not _all _your fault. I did, stupidly, agree to do this, and Cody was stupid enough to get himself captured. So, I would say that it's about 30.3 each way in blame. All I can say though is that if I die, I am coming back and being your personal poltergeist. _

"There are two guards." I whispered, once I had reached the place where Jenn was hiding out.

"Only two? Wow, the security around here sucks," she said, trying to make a joke out of the whole situation, however, the fear in her voice betrayed her true feelings about the whole thing.

Giving her a strained smile, I slowly shifted along the wall, back towards the guards. I could hear Jenn's quick breathing behind me.

"Tina, I'm really sorry about all this," she whispered.

"It's okay, Jenn. You didn't make any of this happen, though, I may tear a strip off of Cody when we get him back," I replied, completely serious about the last part. After receiving a tense smile, I turned back and continued along the wall.

The tension in the atmosphere was so thick; you could have cut it with a knife. Jenn was scared, and since we're being honest here, so was I. Neither of us had signed up for this. When I had asked for an exciting time on our summer vacation, I meant something along the lines of touring London, not getting pulled into a magical land.

"Aslan, please help us," I quietly whispered to myself as we approached the corner. Gripped my sword, I quickly did a mental review of my sword training before leaping out and going at the first guard I met.

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><p><strong>So, there you have it folks! I'm sorry about the length, but the next one will definitely be longer since that is when the story really gets going. I am not quite sure when the next chapter will be posted, since I am going to be writing midterms and then finals all this month. I will try to get it written and posted when I can find a minute. Thanks for viewing! <strong>


	2. Not In Canada Anymore

**Hey guys! So, I actually got this up faster than I thought I would, but that's not a bad thing. Anyways, I would just like to take a quick second to thank the people who left reviews for the last chapter.**

**Unknown (and I mean that literally): Thank you for the review. Well, here is the next chapter.**

**Meow139: Thank you. I am glad that they don't seem like Mary Sues. I really hate those kinds of characters. Hopefully this chapter is to your liking. **

**Disclaimer: I now, nor will I ever, own The Chronicles of Narnia. They belong to the one and only C.S. Lewis.**

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><p><strong>Careful What You Wish For<strong>

**Not In Canada Anymore**

"I give you, the graduating class of 2011 from Gilbert Planes!" announced the master of ceremonies, our grade twelve Biology teacher, Jody Flanderson. As the crowd whooped and hollered, we all looked at each other and threw our hats in the air.

"Okay, everyone! Look this way!" yelled the photographer, Lucille Samson, making sure that we were all looking before snapping the picture.

Well, that was all she wrote. After thirteen years of school, including kinder garden, I, and my classmates, had graduated. Looking around at all my classmates, at the people who had become like a second family to me, I couldn't help be feel a pang of dread. This was it. This was the last time that we were going to officially be a class. My class had been small, with only fourteen graduates, but when you come from a town of maybe seven hundred people, the R.M. included, this was a fair sized class.

"Hey, Tina, come over here! Mom wants a picture of us with our diplomas!" shouted my best friend, Jennifer Puchilo.

"Okay," I yelled back, tucking my diploma securely under my arm before making my way towards her. Now that was easier said than done since I was rather short, only 5'3, so people kept knocking me off course when they bumped into me. Finally, I reached the place where Jenn was standing with her mom, Laurie. "Jenn, your dress looks amazing."

Jenn had gone with a short dress that fell to just above her knees and was a shiny purple color, and when the sun hit it a certain way, the fabric looked blue. Now, I never thought about wearing a short dress to grad, but since Jenn was even shorter then I was, standing at 5'1, it looked really great on her. She also wore heels that had to be at least three or four inches in height. Honestly, I give her all the credit in the world for being able to walk in those. I wasn't even able to stand in them, and believe me, I tried. I ended up doing a face plant right onto the floor.

"Thanks! Yours looks great too!"

I had gone with a simple dark purple dress that fell to my feet. The only decoration was that the single strap had a purple flower on it. Since my dress was floor length I was able to get away with wearing flip flops.

"Can you believe that we're graduated? It feels like just yesterday we were starting kinder garden!" she said excitedly, pushing a piece of her dark brown hair behind her ear.

"I know! It's all so crazy!" I said, "It also seems like just yesterday when we started to plan for our summer vacation to England!"

"Okay, girls!" Laurie said, trying to get our attention. "I'll quickly take the picture then you can keep talking."

Grinning so big I felt like the Cheshire cat, I wrapped an arm around Jenn's shoulder while holding up my diploma with the other, so that my name was displayed. Christine LeeAnn Elis. Jenn copied my pose. Just as Laurie was about to take the picture, I felt someone lean in between us. However, we just stayed like that and Laurie snapped the picture.

After she lowered the camera, I turned towards the person that had decided to make this twosome a threesome. Placing my hand on my hip, I tried to give him the best condescending look that I could, which really wasn't that great considering I was fighting not to smile. "Really, Cody, I think you just ruined the picture."

"Actually, Christine, I think I made it ten times better," he replied before turning to Jenn and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Wow, it's amazing that your baseball cap is still able to fit with a head that big," I said, grinning.

Cody Sanderson was like the brother I never had. The first time I met Cody was after he and Jenn had been dating for a while. I think she wanted to make sure that he really cared about her before she let us meet, and that probably would be my fault. I tend to be protective of her, especially when it came to her seeing someone since that made you rather vulnerable. He had told me that that would never happen, and he had been true to his word. Two years later, and they were still going strong.

Glancing over at them, I noticed that they were looking deeply into each other's eyes. As I watched them, I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. I had never had a steady relationship, and my first kiss was with a random guy at this party, and that was only because I had had a little too much to drink, so it doesn't really count. I guess I could blame my lack of love life on the fact that it wasn't really that high up on my priority list. Well, that and the fact that all the guys in this town, plus the surrounding towns, had minds shallower than a kiddie pool. They all wanted tanned, talk supermodels, and I did not fit that bill.

Standing only at 5'3, like I had mentioned before, I had been the second shortest in my class. With light brown hair, pale skin and green eyes I was almost the complete opposite of what the guys here wanted. Not like I really wanted to date any of them anyways. We were all just fine as friends.

"Think you guys can break your gaze long enough to walk over to my place? My dad invited you guys over for a post-graduation barbeque," I said, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, Tina, we'll find someone for you," Jenn said, walking over to me and linking her arm through mine.

"We will?" Cody asked, looking less than impressed as he linked his arm through Jenn's and tugging us out towards the school's entrance.

"Of course! I think it's about time you found someone. Maybe you'll meet someone in England!" Jenn said. To this I gave a very unladylike snort.

"Jenn, long distance relationships aren't really my thing and neither are one night stands. So, those the chance of that happening in one in a billion. Besides, I'll find someone when I'm ready," I said.

"Or you could just become a cat lady," Cody said, "I think that would just make everything easier."

"A cat lady?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him, "Really? Do you have that little faith in me?"

"No, it's just that you're like my little sister and I'll be damned if someone hurts you. If you become a cat lady then you won't get hurt and I won't get sent to jail," he replied matter of factly.

"Aw, I didn't know you cared that much," I said, putting my hand to my heart and pretending to tear up.

"Yeah, well you two are my favorite girls. Well, after my mom that is," he said before stepping between us and slinging an arm over our shoulders, "Now come on, I'm starving and you're dad makes the best hamburgers, Chris. Have to get our fill in before we leave for England in two days."

"I'm sure they have hamburgers over in England," Jenn said, while I just laughed.

"This is going to be one awesome vacation," I said, grinning.

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><p>"Now, grandma said that she would meet you guys at the airport, so just wait for her," my mom said, before going through my suitcase, again. "Do you have everything?"<p>

"Yes, mom," I said, trying not to sigh. Honestly, I love my mother, but sometimes she can be a real worry wart. "Don't worry. Plus, I can just buy whatever I forgot there."

We had arrived at the airport in Winnipeg an hour and a half ago, and it was almost time for us to board. My mom decided that this was a good time to go through my carry on again.

_Now boarding flight 35F to London, England _announced the speaker.

"Okay, be good for your grandma, and don't do anything stupid," my mom said, while pulling me into a hug.

"Don't worry, mom. We'll be fine," I said before stepping back to give my dad a quick hug before grabbing my carry on and walking over to where Jenn and Cody were waiting in line.

""You guys ready for an adventure?" I asked.

"Oh yeah," Cody said while Jenn nodded. "This is going to be epic!"

After giving my ticket to the lady to check, I quickly gave my parents a final wave before walking onto the link that would get us onto the airplane.

_So many hours later_

"I would like to welcome you all to London, England," the captain said, "Please keep your seatbelts fastened until the plane has come to a complete stop and the seatbelt sign is turned off. Thank you for flying with Air Canada."

I felt my body bounce a little as the plane touched down before it smoothed out and then came to a complete stop.

"Have a good stay," said a flight attendant as we waited in line to step off the plane.

"Thanks, you too," I said before stepping off of the plane and onto another link.

"Well, that was a pretty good flight," Jenn said, stretching as we walked down the link.

"Speak for yourself," Cody said, running his back. "This little brat behind me kept kicking my seat."

"Well, why didn't you tell him to stop?" I asked, before laughing at the look he gave me. The kid's father looked like one of those guys who take steroids or something. That wouldn't have ended well.

"Christine Elis! Is that you?" I heard a voice yell from behind me. Grinning, I turned towards the voice to see my grandma, all 5'6 of her, standing there in her usual blue track outfit.

"Grandma!" I yelled before running up to her and giving her a big bear hug. Now most people wouldn't do that to their sixty-five year old grandmother, but mine was as strong as a horse, and I'm not exaggerating. She walks a mile every day. Sometimes I think she's in better shape than me.

"Hey, Grandma," Jenn said as she and Cody approached, Cody carrying my bag that I had dropped in my rush to greet my grandmother.

"Hello, Jenn. Hello, Cody. How was your flight?" Grandma asked as we walked to where the luggage pickup was.

"It was good," Jenn said before Cody could start complaining again.

"So, bunny," Grandma said, looking at me, "Hooked any boys yet?"

All I could do was groan while Jenn and Cody snickered. "Not you to, Grandma!"

"What? Just thought I would ask. After all, I haven't seen you in over a year."

"So, you think I would get a boyfriend in that time span?"

"Well, I thought you liked that one boy. Oh, what was his name again?" she asked, while scrunching her face up in thought.

"Jake Smiths?" Jenn asked, in a more stating a fact kind of way.

"Ah, yes! Whatever happened to him?" Grandma asked.

"Ugh, don't remind me. Let's just say that I went on one date with him and it never happened again," I said, before spotting my suitcases and grabbing them.

"Why what happened?" she asked as Jenn and Cody went forward to grab theirs.

"Let's just say that I may have slapped him after he tried to kiss me," I said, trying to look a little sorry but failing miserably.

"Slapped him? More like punched him," Cody said, "He came to school the next day with a nice black eye. Told everyone that he got into a bar fight."

"Well, normally I don't approve of violence, but if he was trying something that you didn't like, then good for you, bunny," Grandma said. "Now come. I parked the car in metered parking and I think my two hours is almost up.

"Hey, Grandma, why do you call Chris bunny?" Cody asked. I just slapped my forehead.

"Because when she was little, she couldn't sit still. She kept bouncing all over the place," she replied, smiling.

Grinning, Cody turned to me. "Too bad we didn't have that for the grad memories."

"She is the only person that is allowed to call me that," I said, glaring at him a little so that he knew I was serious.

"Okay, okay," he said, holding up his hands in a mock surrender. "Bunny." I just flipped him the bird when grandma wasn't looking.

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><p>"So, what do you kids have planned for today?" Grandma asked as we all sat around the breakfast table.<p>

"We're going to hike some of the trails in the woods," Jenn said.

My grandma lived in a small country house that was about an hour's drive from London. When she first bought it, my mom and dad tried to convince her to move somewhere closer to the city, or even in the city itself, but she would have none of it. She told them that there was no way she was breathing the city air, and that she was as fit as a fiddle so she could live where she wanted. Needless to say, my parents ended up giving in in the end. My parents always told me that I got my stubborn streak from her, and I'm starting to think they're right.

"That sounds wonderful. You might even see some wildlife. I would come with you, but I have a meeting for the Red Hatters today at Linda McGills house," she said.

"That's okay, Grandma," I said, "You've been going with us none stop since we got here. Go visit with your friends. Don't worry about the dishes, we will clean up."

"Why, thank you, bunny," she said, smiling at me. "Well, I better be off then or else I will be late, and heaven forbid that someone is ever late to those meetings."

"Bye, Grandma, have fun," I said, before she grabbed her keys, gave one final wave and left.

"Okay, let's clean up, and then we can get ready for our hike!" Cody said, starting to clear some plates.

"Sir, yes, sir!" Jenn and I said, together while mock saluting him. He just rolled his eyes.

Two hours later, we were pulling on our runners to go outside. The weather was a little cool, so we all wore sneakers, blue jeans and hoodies.

"Alright!" Cody said, jumping down the front steps, "Let's go do some exploring!"

"Did he put sugar on his cereal again?" I asked Jenn, as I locked the house.

"Unfortunately, yes," she said. Great. A hyper Cody was not a good Cody.

"Well, at least he will be able to hike it off," I said as we followed Cody around the house and into the woods that were behind the house.

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><p>"Cody, you are the biggest idiot I've ever known!" I said in annoyance.<p>

We had been hiking for just over an hour when Cody decided that he wanted to go explore off the path. Well, Jenn and I didn't think that was a good idea, but he didn't listen to us and took off. Not wanting to lose him, we took off after him. However, by the time we finally caught up to him, he had gone quite a ways. When you're two five foot nothing girls trying to keep up with a six foot giant, the odds aren't in your favor. After we caught up to him, I had slapped him upside the head and Jenn had told him off, but all he did was laugh.

"Relax, I know the way back to the trail," he said before starting to make his way back the way we had come. However, after five minutes of walking, he didn't look so sure anymore.

"Sure you know the way back?" I asked in an annoyed tone.

"Yes!" he snapped back, "It's just taking a little longer to get back."

"I don't remember chasing you this far into the forest," Jenn said, looking around in hopes of seeing the trail.

After another ten minutes of walking, we still hadn't found the trail.

"Cody, if we ever go on another trail hike, I am just going to leave you if you take off again," I said, even more annoyed now.

"Yeah, well-"

"Shush!" Jenn said, stopping so quickly I ran into her. "Did you guys hear that?"

Pausing, we all stopped and listened for a minute. Sure enough, the sound of rustling could be heard in the bush on our left.

"It's probably just a small forest animal," Cody said jokingly, but since he had stepped closer to us, that made me think that he was a little nervous too. After a few seconds of watching the bush move, out jumped a badger.

"Aw, look at it," Jenn said, "It's so cute!"

"I'm sorry, but did you just call me cute?" the badger asked in a polite, but somewhat offended, tone."

I felt my jaw drop and my eyes widen. I didn't need to look to know that Jenn and Cody probably had the same reaction. Actually, Jenn did. After hearing a thump, I turned to see Cody had passed out cold. I quickly pinched myself a few times to make sure I wasn't dreaming. It hurt so I deduced that I was indeed awake.

"S-sorry," Jenn squeaked.

"Y-you can talk? How?" I stuttered. I was completely lost. Since when did animals start to talk?

"Simple really," I heard a voice above me say. I glanced up to see a little tiger cub sitting on a tree branch. "You just open your mouth and words come out."

Okay, now I was completely confused as well as freaked out. There weren't any tigers in England, well, except the ones at the zoo and they were all there.

"Uh, yeah, I kinda figured that out," I said, somewhat embarrassed. I just got owned by a tiger cub that could talk.

"Rollio, who are you talking too?" asked a deep voice before another tiger, a fully grown one at that, appeared from behind the tree the tiger cub was in. Feeling more than a little bit afraid, I took a step back. Upon seeing us, the tiger bared his teeth. "Who are you?" Before I could answer, however, Cody woke up.

"Okay, I just had the weirdest dream," he said as he got up, not noticing the tiger behind him, "There were these talking animals and it was completely crazy." Not being able to say anything, Jenn just pointed behind him. Turning, Cody finally noticed the tiger, and gave a rather girly shriek.

"Was the really necessary?" the tiger cub, Rollio, asked, shaking his head.

"Uh….." was all that came out.

"We should take them to the kings and queens," the badger said to the tiger. He then turned to us. "They will have a better idea on what to do. Come along then."

When none of us moved, the tiger snapped at our heels, and we took off in a hurry. I heard something hit the ground and turned to see the tiger cub following as well.

"Guys, I think it's safe to say that we're not in Canada anymore," Cody said to which he just received two glares.

This was not what I had in mind when I said that I wanted to go on an adventure.

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><p><strong>Well, there you have it! The first official chapter of the story, and it's definitely longer then the first one. Let me know what you think. I hope that I am not going to slow in the story. Anyways, this is goodbye until next time. <strong>

**Sweet Country Girl**


	3. First Impressions

**Okay, guys and gals! Here's the next chapter! I should probably be studying for my midterms/finals, but this is way more fun! I would just like to give a quick thank you to everyone who is reading my story, and a special shout out to KoalaLynny and snowcherry98 for adding this story to their alert list. I would also like to thank snowcherry98 for her review. I'm glad that the story has no errors. **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own The Chronicles of Narnia.**

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><p><strong>Careful What You Wish For<strong>

**Chapter Two: First Impressions**

"So, where exactly are we going? I know that you said that we are going to see the kings and queens, but where is that?" Jenn asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over our group for the past fifteen minutes of walking.

"We are escorting you to Cair Paravel. That is where their majesties currently reside," answered the badger.

"Okay. Thank you, Mr….um, I don't think we actually got your name," Jenn said, while shooting a glance at Cody and I to see if we had gotten his name. We just shook our heads.

"I am known as Trufflehunter," he replied, then pointing to the tiger that was currently walking on my left, "He is known as Sir Striker, one of the many knights of Narnia. That is one of his sons bounding up ahead. The child's name is Rollio."

"Well, it's nice to meet all of you," Jenn said, smiling and nodding her head. "My name is Jennifer Puchilo, and that is Christine Elis and Cody Sanderson." I smiled and waved while Cody just raised a hand.

"So, what country are we in?" I asked Trufflehunter. "I know that we aren't in Canada anymore since I know that none of our animals can talk."

"You are in Narnia, and not all animals can talk. Just the ones, and their decedents, that were gifted with speech by the Great Aslan," Trufflehunter said.

"Aslan? Who is Aslan?" Cody asked, finally focusing on the conversation. Until now, he had just been looking around, enjoying the scenery, which was really spectacular.

"He is _the _king of Narnia, and probably the reason why you three are here," Striker said.

"You mean, you don't know why we're here? It wasn't just an accident or something" Jenn asked in disappointment.

"Do not worry, milady," Trufflehunter said, putting a paw on her hand, "I am sure everything will work out in due time. Aslan always has a reason for doing the things He does."

"Thanks, Trufflehunter," Jenn said, giving him a smile.

I couldn't help but smile also. Trufflehunter was one of my most favorite animals now. He was so sweet; I just wanted to scoop him up in a hug. I don't think that he would appreciate it though, or that it would be appropriate. However, I couldn't help thinking about when, if, we would get to go home. I had no idea what time it was, but I knew that grandma must be home from her meeting by now. She probably wouldn't notice our absence for a while though.

"Milady, is something the matter?" Striker asked.

"No, I was just thinking," I said, giving a small smile, "but could you please not call me, milady? I am not a noble woman. Christine would work just fine."

"As you wish," Striker said.

"That goes for me as well," Jenn said.

"So, how far is this castle anyways?" Cody asked, whipping sweat off his brow. I noticed that he had also ditched his sweater and was now just wearing this t-shirt.

"About another hour and a half," Trufflehunter said.

I couldn't help a small sigh from escaping from my lips. Now, normally I don't complain much, and just go with the flow, but my legs were starting to hurt, the heat was making me thirsty and I could feel my t-shirt sticking to me. Thinking that Cody had the right idea, I took off my own sweater and tied it around my waist.

An hour and a half later, I could make out the silhouette of a castle. Even from this distance, it looked quiet spectacular, though I think my opinion was biased since the only castle I'd seen was on the television.

As we got closer to the boarder of the town, a voice called out to us, "What is your business here?"

I turned my head towards the voice, and felt my jaw hit the floor again. There, standing before us, was a centaur. You'd think that after coming across talking animals that nothing else would be a surprise, but I guess it didn't work like that. I heard Jenn give a little gasp, and saw her step towards Cody a bit, who was staring at the centaur with a mis-trusting look on his face. I couldn't really blame her though. The centaur was rather intimidating. As Trufflehunter explained to the Centaur what was going on, I moved towards Cody and give him a slight nudge.

"What's with that face?" I asked him quietly, not wanting to draw the centaur's attention, "You look like you want to rip his head off or something."

"I just don't trust him," he said, going into protective mode.

"Why not?" I questioned, since the centaur had done nothing wrong, thus not giving us a reason to not trust him. "He seems to know Trufflehunter and Striker well." Rollio had disappeared to who-knows-where.

"I don't know. I just don't," Cody said.

"Please, tell me this isn't a whole alpha male think cause, honestly, I think if came to a fight, you'd lose big time," I said.

"What? You have that little faith in me?" Cody asked. Jenn and I just looked at him.

"When it comes to fighting with a sword, and I'm guessing that's what they use since he has one strapped to his side," I said, while gesturing to the centaur, "you probably would lose since you've never had to fight with one before."

"I can use a sword," Cody said, crossing his arms. I just raised my eyebrows in question.

"You can?" Jenn asked. Apparently this was news to her also. "Since when?"

"Yes, I can. I learned how to use one when I played Captain Hook in Peter Pan," Cody said while his chest puffed out.

However, before I could tell him that that really didn't count since the swords were plastic, and his opponent wasn't trying to actually kill him, the centaur turned towards us.

"Welcome, Daughters of Eve and Son of Adam. My name is Sir Pholus. If you will follow me, I can lead you to their majesties," he said before turning and walking down the road that led into the town.

Not having much of a choice, we followed, with Trufflehunter and Striker bringing up the rear. As we passed through the town, I took in my surroundings. It seemed like we were currently passing through some kind of market because I could see different stalls set up, selling an assortment of stuff. Also, there were tons of animals, creatures and humans going about their business. However, they all turned to look when we passed by. Feel really self-conscious under all the gazed, I studied the stone path, looking up once in a while to make sure I wouldn't run into anything. I hated being the center of attention. I would rather just blend into the crowd.

As our very odd party got closer and closer to the castle, I couldn't help but start to feel nervous. Meeting new regular people was hard enough, but these people were royal! I had never met a royal person before, so I didn't really know how to act. My worries were put on pause for a second though as I got my first good look at the castle. It was so amazing, all I could do was gawk at it. I loved this kind of stuff, so I must have looked like a sight. I hadn't noticed that I had stopped until I felt something nudge me. Looking down, I saw it to be Striker; everyone else had stopped and was now looking at me.

"What?" I asked, trying hard not to let my embarrassment show, "It looks neat."

"Yes," Cody said, smirking, "but is it really ladylike to stand there with your mouth open like that?"

"Since when have I cared what is deemed ladylike and what isn't?" I said, joining them before we entered the castle.

"That's true," Cody said, "They say that when you are ladylike you don't swear like a sailor, or raise your voice when something upsets you."

"Yeah, well, I can't help it," I said, crossing my arms, "If people weren't so stupid sometimes I wouldn't do either of those."

"Yes, you would."

"No, I wouldn't."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"I knew it!" Cody said, pumping a fist in the air.

"Dammit!" I said, realizing I had just been tricked by the oldest trick in the book. Crossing my arms, I put on a fake pout. "I hate you."

"No, you don't. You love me," Cody said, giving me the cheekiest grin ever. Not really having a comeback at the moment, I just rolled my eyes.

After a few minute of walking, we had reached a set of oak doors that had two human guards outside it. I really hadn't been paying attention to where we were going, but I assumed this was our destination.

"I need to request an audience with their majesties. It is of rather important news," Pholus said to the guard on the left. The guard just nodded before allowing Pholus to enter, after he told us to wait here.

"Now, I am assuming that you have never met royalty before, correct?" Striker asked. We just nodded. "Well, I guess I better give you a brief run through. When you enter, you, Cody, will bow, and you, Jennifer and Christine, will curtsey."

"Uh, how do you curtsey?" I asked, never having done a curtsey before. Jenn did a quick demonstration. "How did you know how to curtsey?"

"We had to do it in the ballet class I took two years ago," Jenn said.

"Now, don't speak unless spoken too. Also, address them as either your highness or your majesty," Striker said, before Pholus came back out.

"Their majesties will see you now," he said, before motioning us forward.

I don't think any of us were too keen on being the first to enter, so, Jenn and I did the sensible thing; we pushed Cody forward. He shot us a glare before walking into the hall with Jenn and I following. Had the situation not been so tense, I would have looked around, but instead, I kept my eyes focused on a spot on the floor. When we reached the bottom of the stairs that led up to the thrones, where five people currently sat, Cody bowed and Jenn and I curtseyed. Well, I attempted one, that is. I had never done a curtsey in my life, and since I had just been shown how to do one, I didn't really have much practice.

"Welcome, to Cara Paravel, and Narnia," said a voice on the far right. Glancing up, I saw it was the girl with the pretty red hair. I would say that she, and the girl sitting next to her, were absolutely beautiful. They made any supermodel back in Canada look plain. She was smiling at us, with a curious look in her eyes. She looked to be about seventeen. "I am Queen Lucy, the Valiant. These are my siblings, Queen Susan, the Gentle; King Edmund, the Just; High King Peter, the Magnificent, and, our friend, King Caspian the Tenth."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, your highnesses," Cody said, taking up the reins of speaking. "I am Cody Sanderson, and this is my girlfriend, Jennifer, and, my pretty much sister, Christine." I was a little caught off guard. I had never heard Cody sound so formal. "I think there is something wrong with them though. I have never heard them so quiet for so long though." And there it is.

"Well, maybe we would speak if you wouldn't speak for us," Jenn said.

"Or maybe we just have nothing to say at the moment," I added.

At this comment, Cody burst out laughing, forgetting that we were still in the presence of the kings and queens. "You have nothing to say, Chris? I honestly doubt that. You always have some opinion, and have no problem letting others know it."

I opened my mouth to reply, but seeing that Cody was right, I closed it. I just settled for sticking my tounge out at him instead since flipping him off didn't seem appropriate at the moment. This just caused him to chuckle.

"Sir Pholus has informed us that Trufflehunter and Striker had found you in the Western Wood. Is that correct?" asked the blond haired king, High King Peter, in a tone that made it sound a little demanding.

"Yes," I said.

"Your clothing choices are rather odd," said the Spanish looking king; King Caspian. I noted a hint of a Spanish accent. "Where exactly do you hail from?"

"We hail from a country known as Canada," Jenn said, "And what do you mean our clothes look odd?"

"I meant no offence, Lady Jennifer. It is just that it is truly rare for a woman to be wearing pants. Also, the material is like nothing I have ever seen before."

"Really?" I asked, but now that I thought about it, every girl that I had seen so far had been wearing a floor length dress. "Well, where we come from, it's actually quite common to see girls in pants. We only wear dresses if we are going somewhere that requires it."

"Do you know of a place called England?" asked the black haired king, King Edmund.

"Of course," Jenn said. "It's one of Canada's allies. Well, Great Britain is."

"And what year are you from?" Queen Susan asked, catching onto something that had yet to be revealed to us.

"2011," Cody said. "Why?"

"Do you know what happened with the war?" High King Peter asked.

"Well, which one are you talking about? The war in Afghanistan is still going on, but our troops are being pulled out of that one. I don't think," Cody said.

"There was also the Korean War and the Iraq War," Jenn said, "And there's also the Cold War."

"Which war do you want to know about because there is quite a few," I asked, looking at the High King.

"The one that was taking place during the 1940s, which side won?"

"Oh, the Second World War," I said, "The allies won, which included England." Upon hearing this, all the royals, except for Caspian, grinned at each other.

"If you don't mind my asking, why did you want to know about that war?" Jenn asked. I was wondering that too.

"We were from England, and we were living there when that war was going on," Queen Susan said. I think my eyebrows had met my hairline.

"But that means that you all would be in your eighties, at least," Cody said, completely stumped. These kings and queens looked to be about our age, give or take some years. Whatever they had in the drinking water here, I wanted some.

"Trufflehunter told us that you would know what to do with us," Jenn said, finally bringing us back on track, "Do you know why we're here?"

"I am afraid not," High King Peter said, "When we were brought here, it was a time of war, but everything now is peaceful. You're coming here is quite unexpected."

"I am sure Aslan has His reasons for bringing you here though," Queen Lucy said, trying to cheer us up because we must have looked disheartened.

We just smiled. When I looked at Jenn and Cody, I could see the same question in their eyes that was going through my mind. What would we do now? Queen Susan's next statement made me think that she was really observant, or a mind reader.

"Of course, you will be allowed to stay at the palace for as long as need be."

"Really?" Jenn asked, surprised. I think we all were though. Here were these kings and queens that ruled a country, so they probably had a lot of responsibilities, offering their home to three complete strangers.

"Of course!" Queen Lucy said, brightly, "We wouldn't just make you leave with nowhere to go. Plus, it'll be nice having two other girls in the castle." Jenn and I grinned.

"What's wrong with us, Lu?" King Edmund asked, turning his head towards his sister.

"Nothing, it's just that the testosterone levels were getting a little out of hand. Now that we have to more girls, they'll hopefully balance out," Lucy said, grinning mischievously, before standing up and coming down the stairs to stand in front of us. "If you will follow me, I can show you to your rooms." Nodding, we gave a quick curtsey/bow to the other royals, before turning and following Queen Lucy out of the hall.

"So, what do you think of Narnia?" Queen Lucy asked as she led us down so many hallways that I was more than likely going to get lost.

"It's quite a beautiful place, your majesty," I said, instantly liking the young Queen.

"Oh, just call me Lucy," she said, smiling, "We're all friends here."

"Okay," I said, "Lucy it is!"

After about another minute of walking, we had come to a hallway that looked like all the others. Lucy went up to the first one on her right. "This is our guest wing, so this is where you will be staying. Christine, this will be your room, and Jenn and Cody, both of your rooms will be across the hall. If you need anything, just come and find me."

Thanking the Valiant Queen before she took her leave, I turned and opened the door that led to my new room.

Walking in, I stopped dead in my tracks. The room was huge! There was a king sized bed, a mahogany dresser, and vanity to match. The bed had a red quilt with gold trimming, and too many pillows to count. There was also a beautiful fire place, with a dark brown couch placed in front of it. The walls were a burnt red color and gave the room a warm feeling. Poking my head into the room attached to my bedroom, I saw a bathroom made of marble. There was a basin that was currently empty at the moment, and a huge, deep, claw foot bathtub. There were a variety of shampoos, conditioners and soaps sitting by the tub. I also noticed that there was, what I was guessing was the toilet. Walking back out, I looked towards the two big windows that led out of the balcony.

Walking out onto the balcony, I saw that it over looked the ocean. Leaning against the railing, I closed my eyes and let the sound of the water calm my nerves. There was one upside to everything that's happened so far. Narnia was a wonderful place to be.

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><p><strong>So, here is the next chapter. I hope you guys like it Some feedback would be nice, just to know that this story isn't completely horrible, but to each his own! Thanks for reading!<strong>


	4. What a Jerk

**Hey, I'm back with another chapter. I am finally done my finals, so I decided to update. I would like to thank everyone who is reading this story. I am assuming people like it, since I have close to a hundred and sixty visitors. I would also just like to say that this story is not plagiarized. The person that told me that was an anonymous reviewer named Sabrina. I'm not annoyed that this was pointed out, but, if you are reading this, would you please tell me in what way you think it's plagiarized? Then I can maybe fix it. Well, here is the next chapter!**

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><p><strong>Careful What You Wish For<strong>

**What a Jerk**

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Who is it?" I asked. Normally, I would have just yelled come in, but, hey, I'm in an unfamiliar place, and you never know who the crazy people are.

"Housekeeping," said the very bad imitation of a woman's voice.

Shaking my head, I hollered for them to come in.

"Isn't this place awesome?" Cody asked slash exclaimed as he took a flying leap onto my bed.

"It is," I said, raising my eyebrows, "Since when do you like castles? I didn't think you were into the whole fairytale thing."

"I'm not, but come on! This place is sweet! Plus, I don't have to work for that nag of a boss, Bitch Jones, anymore," he said, giving a shudder.

I couldn't really blame him either. The last time I had went into her music shop, I saw her constantly hounding Cody about stuff that wasn't even his fault. Honestly, I think he has the patience of a saint or something. I would have quite.

"Do you think we'll get to go home soon?" Jenn asked, finally voicing what I had been wondering since we got here.

"I don't know," I said, flopping onto my bed. Jenn had turned the couch to face the bed, and was now sitting on it. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Grandma is probably having a fit right about now."

"Yeah, she's probably called the cops by now," Cody said, "and since they say it takes at least forty-eight hours for us to be missing till they file a missing person's case, she would have told them where to shove it. She's probably looking for us herself."

Thinking about my grandma telling some poor cop where to shove it made me smile, before the thought of her out in the woods looking for us now made my stomach clench with worry and fear. What if she got lost? Or hurt? Or killed by some wild animal?

"I'm sure she's fine," Jenn said, "She wouldn't be crazy enough to walk around in the woods by herself." I gave her a small smile. She was right. Grandma wouldn't do that. Though, we've never gone missing before. Before any more negative thoughts could fill my head, a knock on the door caught my attention.

"Come in," I said, too lazy to get up to actually answer the door. If it was an axe murderer, then he would have to deal with me, and I wasn't in a good mood at the moment. I would still get hacked to smithereens, but I could probably cripple him before that happened.

"Oh, there you are," a voice that I recognized as Lucy's said, before silence feel. I could vaguely hear her say something to someone else before the door opened, and people entered. I was assuming people since I could hear more than one set of footsteps. Raising my head, I saw Lucy and Susan enter.

"We just came to see how you all were settling in," Susan said, sitting on the couch next to Jenn. "and to supply you with a change of clothes."

"I'm all settled in," I said, finally sitting up, "and I'm assuming these two are too, since they're hanging out here." Jenn and Cody gave affirmative nods.

"Wonderful!" Lucy said, "I am sure you will love Narnia."

"Queen Susan," Jenn said, before catching the looks that Susan and Lucy were giving her, "Sorry, Susan. I was just wondering, aren't your parents worried about you?"

Susan just gave her a puzzled look. "I do not understand what you mean."

"I mean, they don't think you're missing or anything?" Jenn asked.

You could just see the light bulb go on over Susan's head. "Oh, no. Narnian time and the other world time work differently. When you are here, time just stops at the place where you have come from."

"Really?" I asked, feeling better. Grandma wouldn't even know that we had been gone.

"Yes," Lucy said, "No one will notice your absence."

"Sweet," I said, smiling, "So, why the change of clothes? I mean, it is dark out, so I don't think we'd be going anywhere."

"The only place that we are going, is to supper," Lucy said.

"And it is not polite to go to dinner in dirty clothes," Susan said, than she turned to Cody. "Peter has loaned you some clothes. I had a servant put them on your bed."

Getting the hint, Cody got off the bed and headed to the door. "I'll just come back here when I'm done." Then he was gone.

"Now then," Lucy said, coming over and pulling me up, "time to get you two dressed."

"Uh, whose dresses are those," I asked, pointing to the green and purple dresses in Susan's hands.

"Why, ours of course," Lucy said, smiling at me. "Whose did they think they were?"

"Oh, no ones," I said, picking up the purple dress and holding it to myself, "I don't think this is going to fit me."

"Me neither," Jenn said, holding the green dress. Both dresses fell to the floor, and were so long that some of the material gathered at the bottom. This wasn't surprising though, considering that both Lucy and Susan were a good three to four inches taller than us.

"Well, just try them on and we will see," Lucy said.

Glancing at each other, Jenn and I shrugged before walking into my bathroom to change. Two minutes later, we emerged, both wearing a dress, and holding up the skirts so that we didn't trip. They weren't a perfect fit, but, hey, at least they're clean.

"Well, they are a decent fit," Susan said, "Tomorrow we will go to the dressmaker's so that you can have your own."

Hearing this, I made a face. I wasn't too keen on wearing dresses unless I had too. Jeans worked just fine for me. I liked being able to do something active at a moment's notice. I was even less keen to be used as someone's pin cushion. I had a really bad habit of fidgeting when I had to stand or sit for too long, so I usually ended up getting poked. However, I was just going to keep those comments to myself since Lucy and Susan were being so nice to us.

"Is there a way that we can pin this, so that I don't have to keep holding up my skirt?" Jenn asked, then added, "and so Tina doesn't break her neck." I had just tripped over my dress for the third time.

"I don't think I'm going to break my neck, though, the dress may get ripped," I said, taking a seat, feeling that was best.

"I can pin the extra material," Susan said, grabbing some pins out of one of the draws on the vanity table, and setting to work. After a few minutes, during which Lucy had brushed mine and Jenn's hair, Susan was finished.

"There," she said, "Now you should not need to hold them."

Deciding to test it out, I let my skirt fall and took a few steps forward. I didn't trip so I deemed them good.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Come in!" I yelled, slipping on my sneakers. My feet didn't fit any of the shoes, and the dress was floor length, so no one would see them.

"Ready yet?" Cody asked. He was wearing black, what looked to me to be tights, black boots and a red tunic and a black undershirt. "Well, don't you two look like a pair of ladies?"

Glancing at the dresses, I thought they were rather simple looking, but that was fine by me. I felt out of place wearing it anyways. Mine was dark purple, with silver designs along the sides of the dress. Jenn's dress was emerald green with gold threading.

"Ready freddy, and yes, we do," I said as Jenn told him how handsome he looked in his getup. He told her how cute she looked, and that started their usually yuck fest.

"Are they always like this?" Lucy asked, watching the pair.

"Unfortunately, yes," I said before throwing a pillow at them. "You can continue your cutesy stuff after supper. I'm hungry, and you're making me lose my appetite."

"I think, Jenn, was right," Cody said, keeping an arm around Jenn, "You do need some romance." I just rolled my eyes.

With Lucy and Susan leading the way, we made our way back to the throne room, which seemed to double as the feast room when there were a lot of guests. When we walked in, Susan and Lucy kept walking towards the biggest table in the room, while Jenn, Cody and I hung back, unsure of where to go. I could see the three kings already sitting there. As the girls approached, the three guys rose. Taking a quick glance around, in hopes of finding somewhere to sit, I spotted many different animals and creatures. They were all laughing and having a good time.

"Move," said a voice, right before someone barged in between Jenn and I.

"An excuse me would be nicer," I said, really annoyed. Pompous ass."

I think he heard me because the person, a guy, judging by his outfit, turned around to face me.

"What was that?" he asked, looking a little annoyed.

"I said that an excuse me would be nicer," I said simply. "Then I called you a pompous ass."

"How dare you speak to me that way! Do you know who I am?" he snarled, stepping closer, probably trying to intimidate me.

"Should I?" I asked, cocking my head, as if the question really puzzled me. Quite frankly, I didn't care. Normally I am good about not snapping at people, but when someone really bugs me, my temper rises, and the filter between my brain and my mouth gets shut off.

"I am Lord Stephan, one of the many advisers to their majesties**,**" he said, puffing out his chest, making him look like a peacock.

"And?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips. I knew that I was treading dangerous waters, but annoying this guy was just so fun. Besides, he looked like he needed to be taken down a peg or two.

"Come on, Chris," Cody said, seeing that this was about to turn really ugly, "Let's go."

"Yes, listen to the boy," Lord Stephan said. Cody gave him a glare, not liking being called a boy. "He actually has some sense."

"I have plenty of sense," I said, starting to get pissed off now. I don't know why, but something about this guy just didn't sit with me.

"Oh really? That remains to be seen," he said, sneering, "Since you obviously do not know that you cannot speak to a man, especially one that is a lord, in the manner that you are."

I scoffed. "I can speak to a man anyway I please, especially if he's being a complete jackass."

"You obviously were not taught your place," the Lord said, now so mad I could see a vein throbbing in his forehead.

"My place?" I all but growled at him. I could feel my blood boiling. "And what exactly would that be?"

"To serve the man of the house," he said, as if we were discussing the weather. "Though, I do pity the man that has to deal with you. You are a rather mouthy, little brat, and I must say, it is very unbecoming." I could literally feel myself shaking with suppressed rage.

"What's going on here?" another voice asked, interrupting the conversation. Turning, I saw that it was King Edmund. Jenn was standing beside the table where the rest of the monarchs were; all looking at our little group. Actually, it was then that I realized the hall had gone very quiet. Looking around, I saw that everyone was looking our way. If I wasn't so mad, I would have felt uncomfortable.

"Why, nothing, my king," Lord Stephan said, plastering on the fakest smile I've ever seen, "I was just giving this girl some advice on how to talk to someone of higher rank then her."

Before I could say anything, Cody had stepped in front of me, blocking me from hitting the lord in the face. I way I felt right now, I probably would have.

"By calling her a mouthy, little brat?" King Edmund replied, looking, well, it was rather hard to put a name to the expression on his face, but, if I had too, I would say it was a mixture between dislike and annoyance.

Lord Stephan just stood there, looking like a stunned deer. Apparently, he had thought that no one had heard that last comment. "She called me a pompous ass."

"That's because you acted like one," I said, before Cody gave me a nudge, secretly telling me to shut up. King Edmund glanced at me, before turning back to Lord Stephan.

"You are one of the advisers of the court, yet, you allow a girl to get under your skin? I thought you had more control then that. Make sure it does not happen again," King Edmund said in a tone that said that this conversation was over.

"Yes, your majesty," Lord Stephan said before bowing and then going to sit at one of the tables, where five other guys were sitting.

"I apologize for Lord Stephan," King Edmund said, turning to face Cody and I. Cody had stepped back, and was now standing beside me.

"Huh?" was my intelligent reply. I mentally slapped myself. The first time I talk with the king, and that's what comes out of my mouth, but I was just caught off guard.

"I said, that I apologize," he repeated, shooting Cody a look, as if asking him if I was mental stable or something.

"Yeah, I heard that, but, why? You weren't the one being a jerk," I said, trying to make sense of this.

"Yes, but you are a guest here, and he should treat you as such," he replied before motioning to the table where Jenn was now sitting, still watching. "Come. Susan hates it when supper is started late, and this has really put it back." Feeling a little guilty, I looked at Susan as we walked to the table. She didn't look angry, but confused and concerned.

"What was that about?" Lucy asked, as we took our seats.

"Chris decided to have an argument with one of your advisors," Cody said. "I think his name was Lord Stephan."

"Well, I do not blame you. That man is particularly horrendous," Lucy said, but seeing my confused face, explained. "He thought that it was unfit for Susan and I to be rulers."

"He said that to you?" Jenn asked, looking surprised. If that man said that to the queens, he must have had some balls.

"No," Susan said, "We over heard him telling one of the visiting lords that also shared his view point."

"So, why is he one of your advisers?" Cody asked.

"We are still trying to work out the issues we had with the Telmarines, so we keep him," King Caspian said. That made no sense to me whatsoever, but then, I never did understand all that stuff.

"So, I guess it's safe to say that none of you like him?" Cody asked, already knowing the answer. They all nodded.

"Is that why I'm eating here, and not in the dungeon?" I asked, being completely serious. However, instead of an answer, the kings and queens just started laughing. Actually, so did everyone else within hearing range. "What?"

"You would not be thrown in the dungeon for that," King Peter said.

"What did you do to him to make him so mad?" Susan asked.

"I called him a pompous ass," I replied, before taking a bite of what looked like to be some kind of fish.

"You did?" came five replies at the same time.

"That was pretty cool," I said, then answered the question. "Yes, I did."

"What enticed you to say that?" King Peter asked, while taking a sip from his glass.

"He told me that I needed to learn my place, and that it was my duty to serve a man," I said, stabbing the next piece of fish in annoyance.

"Okay," he replied, looking uncertain. Cody explained.

"Chris, is rather, opinionated," he said, "and she won't think twice to let you know what she thinks."

"Basically, I don't like it when people try to tell me what to do," I said, simply. "You make me mad, you'll deal with the consequences."

"You three, are definitely not from here," King Edmund said. "I don't think anyone would have talked to him like that."

Cody, Jenn and I just looked at each other and grinned.

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><p><strong>And that's all she wrote, for now anyways. Let you know what you think in a review, please! Bye till next time!<strong>


	5. Shopping in Town

**Hey! I am back with another chapter! Whoo! Anyways, I will keep this short, I just want to say thank you to everyone who is reading this story. I also want to thank the following people for their reviews:**

ChocolatSugar: I'm glad you like her! That makes me feel good about her character, since I don't want her to become a Mary Sue. Also, she has two nicknames. Cody calls her Chris while Jenn calls her Tina. Sorry if that seems confusing.

Lanthe95: Thanks for the review!

Meggie cronwall: I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! Thanks for the review.

**Disclaimer: I don't own CoN. It belongs to C.S. Lewis.**

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><p><strong>Careful What You Wish For<strong>

**Shopping in Town**

"Why do I have to come again?" Cody asked, for the sixth time, as we made our way down to the stables.

"Because you need clothes too," Jenn said, for the sixth time, annoyance lacing each of her words.

It was the next day, and Jenn, Cody and I were walking to the stables, where we would meet up with Lucy and Susan. Jenn and I were going to wear our own outfits, since neither of us could ride in a dress, but they had magically disappeared. The only thing we still had were our sneakers. I suspected that Susan had locked the rest of our clothes away somewhere. This forced us to wear the dresses that we had worn the night before.

"You know my sizes. You can just buy the clothes for me," Cody said, trying to weasel out of having to go shopping.

"Look, you're coming, so you might as well quite complaining," I said, scowling at him.

"Yeesh, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed." Instead of replying, I just rolled my eyes.

As we neared the stables, I saw that there were eight horses standing outside, all tacked up, and ready to go. When we reached the spot where the horses were all standing, I looked around to see if I could spot Susan or Lucy.

"Their majesties shall be right back," a voice said to my left. Giving a little start, I looked to see a black stallion. "I apologize for startling you, milady."

"Oh, it's not a big deal," I said, wondering if I could pet him. "I'm just getting used to the whole talking animal thing. Also, call me Christine."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Christine. I am Apollo."

"You sure are a well-mannered horse," I said, smiling. Apollo gave me what looked to be a horsey grin, before something caught his eye, and he bowed his head. Turning, I saw the queens and kings making their way down the path.

"Good morning!" Lucy said, when they reached us. "All ready to go?"

"You bet," I said, grinning. That girl sure was energetic.

"Are you guys coming too?" Cody asked, hope in his voice. When Caspian nodded, he gave a whoop. "Thank God! I'm not the only guy!"

"And just what is wrong with shopping with girls?" Jenn asked, pretending to look offended, hands on her hips.

"Nothing, sweetie. You know I love shopping with you," Cody said, giving her such a sickly sweet smile that I pretended to gag. Cody and Jenn glared at me while I just gave them a smile.

"Do you know how to ride?" Susan asked, walking over to a dapple grey mare.

"Yes," Cody said, before mounting a white and black horse.

"I know how to ride, just not while wearing a dress," I said, looking at Apollo while trying to figure out how to get up there. I had tried to put my foot in the stirrup, but it was higher than I could reach, not that my dress gave me a whole lot of leg room anyways.

"You could try side saddle," Peter said, climbing on his horse.

"Sure, if you want to see me do a face plant into the ground," I said dryly.

"Oh, come on, Tina. It isn't that hard," Jenn said, from where she was perched on her horse. Apparently, I was the only one who wasn't able to get on my horse.

"I thought you didn't know how to ride in a dress," I said, looking at her in surprise. She just shrugged her shoulders.

"You just put your foot in the stirrup and pull your other leg over," Apollo said, not unkindly.

"I know," I said, rubbing the back of my neck, "It's just, I can't reach the stirrup."

"Aw, are you too short to reach the stirrups?" Cody asked, grinning like an idiot.

I turned and glared at him. "Go take a long walk off a short cliff." He just laughed.

"Here, I'll give you a leg up," Edmund said, folding his hands so that I could step on them.

"Thanks," I said, smiling at him after I had gotten settled in the saddle.

"Always glad to help a damsel in distress," he said, smiling before mounting his horse.

"I am not a damsel in distress," I said, scowling at him playfully.

"Sure, sure," he said, smirking at me. Before I could say anything, he had taken off down the path.

"Jerk," I mumbled under my breath, not really meaning it, before nudging Apollo into a trot.

As we rode, I looked at the beautiful surroundings, really getting to appreciate Narnia's beauty. All the reds, yellows and greens really make it look pretty. After ten minutes of riding, Cody started to sing quietly.

"Are you singing Don't Fence Me In?" Jenn asked, from behind me, where she was riding beside Cody.

"Yeah," Cody said, looking a little embarrassed. Instead of saying anything, Jenn started to sing.

"Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above," she sang.

"Don't fence me," Cody and I sang, joining in.

"Let me ride through the wide open country that I love," I sang.

"Don't fence me in," we sang.

"Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze," sang Cody.

"And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees," Jenn sang.

"Send me off forever but I ask you please," I sang before Jenn and Cody joined in again.

"Don't fence me in."

"Just turn me loose, let me straddle my old saddle underneath the western skies," I sang.

"On my Cayuse, let me wander over yonder till I see the mountains rise," Jenn sang, grinning.

"I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences," Cody sang.

"And gaze at the moon till I lose my senses," sang Jenn.

"And I can't look at hovels and I can't stand fences," I sang.

"Don't fence me in," we all sang. We all looked at each other before starting to sing again, all together this time.

Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies,  
>Don't fence me in.<br>Let me ride through the wide open country that I love.  
>Don't fence me in.<br>Let me be by myself in the evenin' breeze,  
>And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees.<br>Send me off forever but I ask you please,  
>Don't fence me in.<p>

Just turn me loose, let me straddle my old saddle  
>Underneath the western skies.<br>On my Cayuse, let me wander over yonder  
>Till I see the mountains rise.<p>

I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences,  
>And gaze at the moon till I lose my senses,<br>And I can't look at hobbles and I can't stand fences  
>Don't fence me in<p>

No, don't fence me in!

I couldn't help grinning like an idiot as we finished the song. It was just so much fun. Looking at Jenn and Cody, I saw that they were also wearing smiles.

"That was wonderful," Lucy said, grinning. She had fallen back to listen, and was now riding beside me, "Where did you learn that song?"

"Oh, it's just a song that we learned when we were little," Jenn said.

"It seemed rather appropriate," Cody said, pleased that Lucy had liked the song.

"Can you sing another?" Susan asked, "It is rather entertaining."

"Uh, okay," Cody said, surprised at being asked. Then he looked at Jenn and I. "What should we sing?"

"What about 'We Are One'?" Jenn suggested. I nodded. I liked that song, plus, it was one of our graduation songs.

"Okay, sounds good," Cody said. With that settled, we started to sing.

As you go through life you'll see,

There is so much that we

Don't understand.

And the only thing we know

Is things don't always go

The way we planned.

But you'll see everyday

That we'll never turn away.

When it seem all your dreams come undone.

We will stand by your side

Filled with hope and filled with pride.

We are more than we are,

We are one.

If there's so much I must be,

Can I still just be me,

The way I am?

Can I trust in my own heart

Or am I just one part

Of some big plan?

Even those who are gone,

Are with us as we go on.

Your journey has only begun.

Tears of pain, tears of joy.

One thing nothing can destroy,

Is our pride, deep inside,

We are one.

We are one you and I,

We are like the earth and sky.

One family under the sun.

All the wisdom to lead,

All the courage that you need.

You will find, when you see,

We are one.

This time when we finished, there were applause. Looking around, I saw that we had reached the town, and that many animals, creatures and humans had heard the last part. I had been so engrossed in the song, I hadn't even noticed. I smiled, feeling a little self-conscious.

Sliding off of Apollo, after watching how Lucy did it so that no one saw my underwear, I tied Apollo's reins to the saddle horn. Apparently, the horses just wandered around until they were called for again, which seemed fair. Why should they have to follow us around? Plus, I don't think that would have worked too well, since the market looked even busier than yesterday.

"So, where to first?" Jenn asked, looking around in excitement.

"First, we have to go to the clothing shop," Lucy said, looping her arm through mine and practically dragging me down the street.

I tried to take a look around, but that was proving to be rather difficult with Lucy. Deciding to take a better look around later, I let her lead me into a rather large shop. There was everything in that shop, from guys clothes to girls clothes.

"Hello, how may I help…oh, your majesties," the female faun said, dropping into a bow. "I assume you are here for your fittings?"

"Yes, Helena," Susan said, "and we are also looking for some clothes for our friends."

"Well, if you will follow me," Helena said, gesturing to our group, "I can get you five in for your fittings, and then I can find some suitable clothing for you three." I had a feeling that the suitable clothing part was directed more to towards Jenn and I.

"So, what's with the fancy dresses?" I asked Lucy, as I watched Helena pin the dress.

"Oh, right!" Lucy said, slapping her forehead, "We didn't tell you. There is going to be a ball in three weeks. It is the Autumn Day Ball. There are going to be people from all over coming."

"A ball?" Jenn asked, excitement filling her voice. I was feeling rather excited too. We had never been to a ball before.

"Yes," Susan said, from where she was being fitted. The guys were being fitted in another part of the shop. "It will be spectacular. There will be music, dancing and everything."

"Dancing? What kind of dancing?" I asked.

"Oh, just simple dances like the waltz and what not," Lucy said, and then saw mine and Jenn's faces, "Do you not know how to dance?"

"Oh, we can dance," Jenn said, "But not the classical kind that you have here." I let out a little laugh as I pictured people grinding on one another. It looked weird.

"Well, we'll just have to fix that," Lucy said, stepping down from the pedestal. I didn't really feel too keen on learning how to dance, mostly because I have two left feet when it came to dancing with a partner.

"Now, time to find some dresses for you two," Susan said, once she was finished.

"And we also have to find them something to wear for the ball," Lucy added, looking through dresses, picking some out and handing them to me so that I could try them on.

When we each had about twenty dresses, we walked behind the changing screens. After I had pulled on the first dress, I looked in the mirror and made a face. "There is no way I am wearing this!"

"Oh, come on!" Jenn yelled, apparently showing the girls her first dress, "Show us!"

"It looks terrible!" I yelled back, not budging.

"Just show us!" Lucy yelled, using her authoritative voice. Giving a small sigh of irritation, I walked out from behind the screen.

Well, Susan, Lucy and Jenn just stood there, not saying anything. However, their facial expressions were enough.

"I told you it looked bad." The dress was a bright yellow in colour, had lots of ruffles, and the giant skirt had feathers on it.

"That's not one of the dresses I chose," Lucy said, frowning. I felt a little better, knowing that Lucy didn't actually want me to wear this.

"It must have been in there already," Jenn said, trying to hide her smile.

"How goes your shop…..what the heck are you wearing?" Cody asked, walking around the corner and seeing me. Laughing, he examined the dress. "I didn't know Big Bird was in town. Hey, you guys, come look at this."

Before I could run back behind the screen, the three kings walked around the corner, apparently finished with all the stuff they had to do. Upon seeing the dress, their expressions ranged from surprise, Peter and Caspian, to amusement, Edmund.

"Well, it certainly is, uh," Peter said, not sure what to say.

"It makes you look like a chicken," Edmund said, laughing, "Are you going to lay an egg?"

"If I do, I'll be sure to crack it over your head," I said, remembering that he called me a damsel in distress and I hadn't retaliated for that yet. Quickly pickuping up the skirt, I walked back to where the other dresses were before he could reply.

As I slipped out of the horrid chicken dress, I heard muffled talking and then silence. Picking up a dress that I knew Lucy picked out, I quickly slipped it on, and walked out to get the girls' approval.

"Where did the guys go?" I asked, giving a spin so that Lucy and Susan could see the front and back.

"Who knows," Susan said, nodding her head, "We will meet up with them in an half an hour."

Nodding my head, I turned to face Lucy and Susan. "So, the verdict?"

"Definitely that one," Lucy said. Susan nodded.

After Jenn and I had chosen about ten dresses, plus the one that we would wear to the ball, we made our way out of Helena's shop. Our dresses were going to be delivered to Cair Paravel, which, in my opinion, was a good thing since I don't think the ride back would have been too pleasant with all those dresses.

"Now for shoes," Susan said, leading us towards another shop. As I followed her, I made a mental note to hide my sneakers when we got back to the palace. I didn't need them disappearing on me too.

"Here," Lucy said, handing me a pair of shoes that looked like they could impale someone, "try these on."

I looked at the shoe, then at Lucy, then back at the shoe. "Are you crazy? I'll break my neck!"

"No, you won't," Lucy said, urging me to try them on. "At least try to walk in them."

Sighing, I quickly slipped the shoes on, stood, and fell right back on the seat. "Luc, I can't even stand in these. Let alone walk in them."

"Jenn seems to have no trouble," Susan said.

"Yeah, but Jenn's used to wearing heels. I'm not," I said, taking off the shoes and placing them back on the shelf.

"It's true," Jenn said, "The highest heel that she's ever worn was only one and a half inches."

"Well, let's find you shoes that are that height then," Lucy said, walking over to a shelf and examining the shoes there.

After purchasing a pair of riding boots, shoes to go with my dress for the ball and multiple pairs of flats, we left the shoe shop.

"I think we are going to need to give you some lessons on how to walk properly. You're posture if awful," Susan sad.

"Gee, thanks, Su," Jenn said.

"Teach us how to walk? What like a ballerina?" I asked, before extending my arms and prancing down the street.

"Not quite to that extreme," Susan said, chuckling. "Put your shoulders back and hold your head up."

Doing as she commanded, I instantly felt silly. "It feels like I'm trying to stick out my chest."

"If you do it often enough, you won't feel silly. It makes you more graceful and poised too."

"Who's going to be more graceful?" Cody asked, walking up to us, holding an apple. I could see Edmund, Peter and Caspian a little ways back, talking with some people.

"Susan's going to teach Tina and I how to walk properly so that we'll be more graceful," Jenn said.

"Well, you're already really graceful," he said, smiling at Jenn. Then he turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "But you're about as graceful as a giraffe."

"Love you too," I said, snatching his apple, "I'm more graceful then you are."

"No, you aren't, and give that back!"

Grinning, I gave it a big lick before holding it out to him. "Here, take it."

"No, thanks," he said, making a face. "Are you sure you weren't supposed to be born a boy because you sure do act like one."

"I hang out with you. Enough said," I said, taking a bite out of the apple.

"Oh, burn!" Jenn said, laughing.

"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side!" Cody said, pretending to look hurt.

"Dude, don't you read the dictionary?" I asked, putting my arm around Jenn. "Girls before guys all the time!"

"Are you sure you two aren't brother and sister?" Lucy asked.

"No we aren't," I said, while Cody just flung an arm around me, giving me a hug.

"She's like the baby sister I never had!" He said, pinching my cheeks.

"I'm only younger than you by a month!" I said, slapping at his hands, than rubbing my cheeks.

"Yeah, but that's a month worth of wisdom that I have over you."

"Oh really? I have yet to see any wisdom come from you," I said, smirking at him.

"You'll pay for that!" he said, dramatically, before grabbing a stick. "Prepare to defend thy self."

"Thy self?" Jenn asked, raising an eyebrow, "And don't hurt each other."

"Oh no, what am I gonna do? You have a stick!" I asked, dramatically before grabbing the stick the amused merchant, who was watching us, held out for me. "Unguard!" And so, that started the mock sword fight.

"Do you surrender yet?" I asked, from where I was sitting on Cody, pinning him to the ground.

"Yes, now get off me!"

"What's the magic word?" I sang, thoroughly enjoying this.

"Please!" he barked at me.

Laughing, I stood up and then offered him my hand. "Good match!"

Taking my offered hand, Cody stood up. "You too! I'll get you next time though!"

"That was rather impressive," Caspian said. Apparently, we had drawn the interest of a few people, including the kings, who were now standing beside the queens. "Other than Lucy and Susan, not many human females know how to fight."

"Yeah, well, when your three older cousins like to pick on you, you tend to learn a few moves," I said, twirling the stick.

"You know, I think you three should learn how to fight," Peter said, "Not that you have to go to war, but then you will be able to defend yourselves, should any conflict of that kind happen."

"Sure," Cody said, "So, what kind of stuff is there?"

"You have a choice between archery and sword fighting," Lucy said, as our group made our way down the street. "You will have to be tested in both to see what is best for you."

"I can save you some trouble," I said, than continue when Lucy gives me a questioning look. "I suck at archery." Jenn and Cody snicker, remembering the first, and last, time I tried to use a bow and arrow.

"I'm sure you are not that bad," Susan said, "I can teach you."

"Well, if you're sure, but I still think it's hopeless," I said.

"Since we are all done here, why don't we go back to the Cair, and see what each of you is best at?" Lucy asked, as we made our way to where the horses were standing.

"That sounds good," Peter said, climbing onto his horse.

I looked at Apollo. "I think we need to do something about this size issue."

"Such as?" he asked, turning his head to look at me.

"I don't know. Either I have to find some magic potion to make me grow a few more inches, or you need to shrink," I said, jokingly. Apollo just snorted, making it sound like he was laughing.

"Does the lady require some assistance?" Edmund asked, smirking.

"Unfortunately, yes," I said before he gave me another boost onto Apollo. "You know, this wouldn't happen if I wasn't so darn short, and if I didn't have to wear this dress."

"Well, I can have the stirrups lengthened on the saddle, but as for you height, I don't think there is much that can be done," he said, smiling.

I couldn't help but notice how his smile made him look really attractive. Wait, where did that thought come from? I quickly gave myself a mental slap. I mean, come on, I've only known the guy for a day, and I haven't even really talked to him that much. Besides, he was a king, and I refused to be one of those girls that instantly falls for a guy just because he is nice to her a few times.

"Thanks; that would be appreciated," I said, "That way I don't have to use you as a footstool all the time."

"Hmm, Ed, as a footstool," Peter said, chuckling, "That would be interesting."

I couldn't help but laugh as I pictured a footstool with black hair, wearing a silver crown. "Yes, very interesting."

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><p><strong>Well, that's it for now folks! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know! Bye for now!<strong>


	6. Swords and Bets

**So, before I start the story, I just have one question. Is my story really that bad that no one wants to review it? Now, I know that that sounds really pathetic, but I was just wondering. I am not going to hold the story hostage until people review, I want them to do that on their own. However, some feedback would be nice. I am assuming that people like this story so far since I have yet to have someone tell me otherwise. Anyways, I would just like to give a quick shout out to my lone reviewer from the last chapter, then on with the story!**

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><p><strong>ChocolatSugar<strong>: Thank you for your wonderful review! I'm glad that you like them. I am trying to make connections between those three now, so that later on, when other things are revealed, the thought process behind it will make sense. Yes, I would say that Cody and Chris are most definitely brother and sister. Well, as much as they can be considering that they are not related by blood. I'm glad she isn't a Mary Sue. Sometimes, they don't start out like that, but change quickly. This chapter has more Edmund in it. I am trying to start a friendship between them first, so it may take a few chapters. Again, thank you for your review! This chapter is for you!

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I don't own The Chronicles of Narnia, if I did, oh, who am I kidding? I would never come up with something like that!<strong>

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><p><strong>Careful What You Wish For<strong>

**Swords and Bets**

"So, I would say that out of the three of you, Jenn is the only one that has any talent when it comes to shooting a bow and arrow," Pholus said, surveying the arrows.

Jenn's arrows had all hit the target; none were bulls-eyes, but it was way better than mine and Cody's. Cody's arrows were all around the target, and some of my arrows hadn't even flown. I did manage to almost spear a poor guard that happened to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time. After yelling out apologies, I quickly handed over the bow and arrows to Jenn, not wanting to hurt anyone else.

We had started our lessons right after we returned to Cair Paravel, and they were actually quite fun. Susan was a magnificent archer, Caspian was decent enough, and Lucy was really good at giving encouragement. Peter and Edmund had disappeared to who knows where.

"You know, you have to wonder how you manage to almost hit a moving target, yet, you can't even manage to get the arrows anywhere near the stationary target," Cody said, grinning.

"At least I almost hit something. None of yours even hit the target," I said, taking a swig of water.

"I have seen worse," Susan said. I just raised an eyebrow at her. I seriously doubted that.

"Well, I'm sure you will improve if you just practiced more," she said. "I think that Jenn should be one of the archers."

"I think it's time that you two try swordsmanship," Pholus said, motioning us to follow. Waving to Jenn, Lucy and Susan, Cody and I followed Pholus to a fenced off ring, where Edmund and Peter were standing.

"Do we get to use real swords?" Cody asked, excited.

"Not until you've mastered the basics," Edmund said, handing each of us a practice sword made out of wood.

"And after watching the spar between you two in town, I think that giving you real swords would be quite dangerous until you actually know how to wield them properly," Peter said. I had to agree with him there. We had poked each other with the sticks many times, but would probably kill one another if we had a real sword. Not on purpose of course.

"So, where do we start?" I asked, while swinging the practice sword around, trying to get a feel for it.

"First, we are going to see where you two measure up in terms of ability. That way, we can get a general idea on where to start," Peter said, "Pholus mentioned that you knew how to fight with a sword, Cody, so we are going to put that to the test."

I couldn't help but grin at Cody's face. He looked like someone had just him that pigs flew. I guess he thought that Pholus hadn't heard him. He looked at me for some help, but I just walked over to the fence and hopped up onto it. I gave him a look saying that he had to get himself out of this one.

Not wanting to admit that he really didn't have much of a clue when it came to sword fighting, Cody sighed before nodding his head. "Okay, sure."

"I have a feeling that Cody doesn't actually know how to handle a sword. Am I wrong in making that assumption?" Edmund asked, coming to stand beside me as Peter and Cody started to do some stretching.

"Not really," I said, "The only time he ever used a sword was in the play, Peter Pan, and even then, the sword fights weren't that great. Though, he has taken some fencing classes, so you never know."

"So, it is going to be a fast fight then," Edmund said, "Since Peter is one of Narnia's best swordsman, I would bet that this doesn't take more than a minute."

"I would take that bet," I said. Edmund just raised an eyebrow at me. "Cody just has to last longer than a minute. How hard can that be?"

"So, what's the wager?" he asked.

"If I win, you have to go into town on the busiest day, stand in the middle of the place, and sing I'm a Little Tea Pot while wearing the puffiest dress that the castle has," I said, grinning when he looked appalled.

"I can't do that!" he said, "I'm their king! How would that look?"

"Oh, is the little king scared?" I asked, mocking him.

"I'm not scared of anything!" he exclaimed, raising his head. "Fine, but if I win, then you have to clean my study when this is over."

"Deal," I said, sticking my hand out so that we can shake on it.

That didn't seem too bad. It wasn't public humiliation anyways. Once the deal was done, we watched as Cody and Peter squared off. Pholus, who overheard our bet, kept count for us.

"50…51…..52…" Pholus said.

Just as Pholus was about to say fifty-three, Cody lost his balance from swinging to hard, giving Peter the opening he needed. He pointed the tip of the practice sword into Cody's stomach, signaling an automatic win.

"No!" I said, while Edmund yelled out "Yes!"

Cody and Peter gave us confused expressions.

"They made a bet," Pholus said, "and King Edmund won."

"What was the bet?" Cody asked.

"I bet that you could last longer than a minute against Peter," I said, "Now, I have to clean his study after we are done here." Cody shot me an apologetic look.

"What would you of had to do if I had lost?" Peter asked Edmund.

"I would have had to sing I'm a Little Tea Pot, in town, wearing a dress," he said, making a face. Peter burst out laughing.

"If I would have known that, I would have gone easier," he said, grinning while Edmund just frowned at him before smirking.

"Well, that didn't happen," he said.

"Now it time to see if you can last longer than me," Cody said, handing me the wooden sword.

"I doubt it," I said, sliding off the fence, "Since I've never handled a sword before."

"Scared?" Edmund asked, taking the other sword from Peter while throwing my own word back at me.

"No," I said, before marching into the center of the arena. Yes, I was going to get my butt kicked, but I can be stubborn sometimes and this was one of those times. "Give it your best shot!"

"Okay," he said before lunging at me.

Not expecting that, I back peddled, trying to keep distance between us. However, my dress had other ideas. In my hurry to get away, I stepped on the back of my dress, which caused me to fall flat on my back.

"Well, that was easier than I thought it was going to be," Edmund said, standing over me and smirking. "And you do know that you are not supposed to run away right?"

"Oh, shut up and help me up," I said.

"Does the damsel need help again?" he asked, before laughing. I just glared at him, before taking the hand that he offered.

"That would have been a totally different outcome if I hadn't been wearing this dress," I said. It probably wouldn't have gone any better if I was wearing pants, but I wouldn't have taken myself down.

"Oh really?" he asked, amusement in his eyes.

I couldn't help but noticed how brown they were, like dark chocolate. I could look into them all day. Wait, what? Where did that come from? God, I really have to get these thoughts out of my head. Not wanting any of them to see the blush that was probably on my cheeks, I walked over to where my sword had flown as I feel to the ground. Yes, I know what you're all thinking, why would I blush at something so simple? Well, I'm not a very romantic person, and I blushed easily when I'm embarrassed. Hopefully they would just think that I was embarrassed about what happened.

"So, now that we've established that Chris and I have no skills what so ever, what happens now?" Cody asked, walking over.

"Now, we actually teach you the basics," Peter said, "I think it's best if we do it in pairs though. Cody you're with me."

Cody gave me a wink before him and Peter went to one side of the arena. I just looked at him in confusion. What the heck was that about?

"So, where do we start, teach?" I asked.

"Well, your stance looked alright, from what I could see of it," he said, "How do you have your feet placed?"

I took my stance again, and then lifted my skirt so that he could see my feet, showing that I was wearing my runners again.

Edmund nodded his head, than noticed my shoes. "Nice shoe choice, though I can't say that they go with the dress."

I couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that he was giving fashion advice. Well, trying would be a better word. "Well, I didn't exactly have another choice. There was no way I was going to ride barefoot. That's just asking for trouble."

"So, I'm assuming that Susan doesn't know about this atrocious fashion choice?" he asked.

"No, she doesn't, and why would I take fashion advice from someone who probably has about as much fashion sense as a chicken," I asked.

"I will have you know that I have excellent fashion sense. Ask any of the ladies of the court," Edmund said.

"With a head that big, it's surprising that your crown still fits," I said, smirking. "And I don't think the ladies of the court said that just to give you a compliment."

Instead of replying, Edmund just shuddered.

"Oh, come on, they can't be all bad." I said.

"You just say that because you haven't met some of them yet," he said, then looked thoughtful, "Though, they are not as horrendous as some of the princesses and ladies from other countries."

"Now is that any way for a king to talk," I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You do not have to deal with it," he snapped, scowling a bit.

"I think that would be considered a good thing," I said, before raising my sword, "Now teach me something before Cody decides to come over here and test out how much he's learned."

"What you do first is…" Edmund said, and then proceeded to instruct me on how to handle the sword properly. It was quite fun, and, if I'm being honest, Edmund was a very good teacher. He had a lot of patience considering, which was good considering that I sucked at sword fighting. Well, sucked compared to him.

"I think that's enough for today," Edmund said.

"Oh, come on! I was just getting the hang of it!" I said, not wanting to stop, though my body was saying something entirely different.

"You can use that energy for the cleaning that you are going to be doing soon," Edmund said, grabbing my sword.

Groaning, I slapped my forehead. "That is your fault," I said, glaring at Cody, who was standing with Jenn. I guess the girls had finished, and decided to come see how Cody and I were faring.

"What's his fault?" Jenn asked.

"Chris made a bet with Edmund, and she lost," he said.

"So, what do you have to do?" Lucy asked, sitting on the fence.

"I have to clean his study," I said, noticing sympathetic expressions come over Lucy and Susan's faces. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. "What?"

"Edmund's study is rather, um, messy," Susan said.

"It looks like a hurricane blew through it," Lucy said, looking at Edmund. "Which is why you should clean it yourself."

"Hey, we made a bet and I won fair and square," Edmund said, trying to defend himself.

"He's right," I said, "We made a deal, and I don't go back on them. Besides, it can't be as bad as you're making it out to be."

Oh, how wrong I was.

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><p><strong>Done! So, I hope you guys liked this chapter. Sorry if any of the characters seem off. I am trying to keep them in character as best as I can. Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know!<strong>


	7. Story Telling

**Hey everyone! I'm back! Sorry for the long wait, but school was brutal. Anyways, just a quick shout out to all the wonderful people who reviewed the last chapter:**

ChocolatSugar: Yes, it is tragic. Lol. Thanks for the review. I thought that letting it build up would be best because I just don't believe the whole fall in love in a week kind of thing. I can't reveal that!

Crystal: Thanks for the review. I am not actually sure what inspired me. Edmund has always been one of my favorite characters, and I thought I would write a story. Also, I love reading Edmund/Oc stories. Just wondering, why do you think that I am trying to out do another story?

Lanthe95: Lol. Yes, poor Cody. Thanks for the review.

**I would just like to give a shout out to my wonderful beta, ChocolatSugar! Thanks a million! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia. Never have and, sadly, never will.**

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><p><strong>Careful What You Wish For<strong>

**Story Telling**

"Whoa!" I exclaimed, gapping around at Edmund's study. "I think I owe Lucy an apology."

"What? It isn't that bad," Edmund said, walking in and sitting down at what I assumed was his desk. You couldn't actually see the top though considering that it was covered with papers, books and a bunch of other stuff.

"My room isn't that bad," I said, stepping into the study, trying to figure out where to start. "Heck, Cody's room isn't even this bad. You know, I never pegged you for someone who is this messy."

"Normally I am not, but I have been busy for a while and have not had much time to do any straightening up." He replied, flipping through papers.

"Don't you have a maid or someone to clean in here?"

"No," he said, looking up and smirking, "No one cleans this study anymore. I used to have a maid that did it, but she didn't do it right. I am actually the only one that cleans in here, so really, you should feel honored."

"Really?" I asked, hands on my hips and raising an eyebrow, "Because I don't feel too honored right now."

"Your problem, not mine," he said, before looking back to his papers.

Too tired to argue, I just sighed, before taking a good look around the study. It wasn't actually that bad considering that most of the mess consisted of books. Honestly, I love to read, but how the heck did he read so much?

"You know, this room isn't going to clean itself," Edmund said, not looking up.

"And I wouldn't have to clean it either, if its owner would just learn to put stuff away," I said, grabbing some books that were on a chair, before placing them onto a near empty bookshelf.

"Alphabetical order."

"What?" I snapped. Normally, I wouldn't be so rude, but I was tired as hell and all I wanted to do was have a bath, curl up with a book and just enjoy some peace and quiet.

"I want the books placed in alphabetical order."

Resisting the urge to throw the next book at him, I just gritted my teeth. "How can someone be so nice one minute, and such a pain in the ass the next?"

I think I caught him off guard a bit; he stopped what he was doing and looked at me, wearing a stunned expression. I guess no one ever talked to him like that. Well, if they wanted to sleep in the dungeons they might.

"You know, you really are an odd person." Edmund said, looking at me as if he was studying something under a microscope.

"How so?" I asked, as I kept picking up books, trying to ignore his scrutinizing look.

"Well, for one, you don't like being the center of attention, yet you seem to draw it to you."

"I don't intentionally draw attention to myself. If I'm not aware of people watching me, I don't have a problem with it. It's when I know people are looking at me that freak me out. I would rather just blend in, and occasionally pop out when I want to." I said, placing the last book onto the shelf. "How do you know that I don't like attention anyways?"

"Anyone with a pair of eyes could tell by your reaction when we rode into town today," he said, placing down the paper and leaning back in his chair.

I scowled at him. I knew some of my flaws. I didn't need them thrown back in my face. However, I couldn't help but also be curious. I always wondered what people thought of me, and I was finally getting an answer, even if the answer was from a guy who would've thought I was odd even if we were back on earth. Well, probably not, since he would either be in a nursing home or six feet under.

"So, what are the other reasons as to why I'm odd?" I asked, picking up a fallen map.

"You don't really act like a proper lady."

Okay, at this I couldn't help but snort. This just reinforced his statement, but oh well. "And what exactly do you mean by that, since not being a proper lady could have a variety of meanings. Are you referring to the fact that my manners aren't quite up to par?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Though, I do hear that Susan is going to help improve those." I let out a small groan. That wasn't going to be fun. "What I mean is, is that one, you are not married and two, the way you speak to some people. Ladies around here wouldn't dare talk that way."

"Why not?" I asked, sitting down on a rather comfy chair, and fiddling with a piece from what I guessed to be a chess board.

"It is something that is drilled into their heads since they were little," Edmund said, I raised a questioning eyebrow. He explained quickly, "Just something I remember a duchess telling me."

"Well, I guess the reason for both those points can simply be the time period that I was raised in."

"How so?" he asked, leaning forward to rest his arms on his desk, an interested look on his face.

Biting my lip, it took me a few seconds to actually find the reason as to why that was.

"Well, I guess it all boils down to the fact that women aren't as, I dunno, sheltered in my time. They're more independent, and have no problem telling you what's what when need be. They don't rely on a man to protect them. Well, some may, but a lot can fight their own battles. You have to be able to, or else you'll get eaten alive."

"Battles, Women fight in battles? What do you mean by eaten alive?"

"Well, some do fight in wars, but what I mean by battles, would be how people, mainly the media, keep trying to tell us how we should dress, act, look, etc. I guess that is no different than here. What I mean by eaten alive, is that my time has so much violence, hate and death in it, which you have to be able to stick up for yourself if you want to make it."

"That doesn't sound like a nice place at all," Edmund said, looking a little disgusted. "Do people have no honor?"

"I think honor has long been dead and buried," I said, chucking, "but it isn't quite as bad as it sounds. I mean, for all the bad that there is in the world, there is also good. There are cures for diseases that used to kill people, the technology can be wonderful at time and acts of discrimination and violence aren't tolerated anymore. At least, in Canada they aren't."

"That doesn't sound too bad then," he replied after a minute. I guess he needed to let everything sink in. "I mean every place has its problems."

"Narnia doesn't seem to have many problems. Well, ones that people are aware of anyways," I said, resuming my cleaning.

"That is because we are at peace right now, so there are no huge problems, but Narnia does have them," Edmund said. I could hear the sound of rustling paper, as Edmund looked through them. I assumed he was anyways since I wasn't looking at him.

"Hey, Edmund, can I ask you something?"

"You just did, but go ahead."

I rolled my eyes though I couldn't help but smile a bit. "Funny. Anyways, I was just wondering, why are you and your sibling here?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, though I could see him tense a bit.

"Well, when Cody, Jenn and I were walking to the castle, Trufflehunter told us that Aslan had brought us here for a reason. I was just wondering why you four were brought here. Don't even try to tell me that you're from here because if you were, we wouldn't have been questioned about World War Two." I probably didn't need to add that last part, but people have tried to play dumb before and I ticked me off that they thought that I was stupid enough to fall for it.

"We were brought back here because Caspian needed our help in the war against his uncle and the Telmarines."

"A war against his uncle, what? Why?" I asked, completely baffled.

"Caspian's uncle, Miraz, wanted Caspian dead because Caspian was the true heir to the throne. After Miraz's son was born, Miraz ordered his soldiers to kill Caspian. He fled into the woods, and ran into some of the Narnians. He had Susan's horn with him, and blew it, which summoned us back here. We helped him in the war, and once the war was fought and won, thanks to Aslan, my siblings and I were given a choice. We could return to England, or we could stay in Narnia. We chose to stay in Narnia and assist Caspian, who was crowned king. Now, we rule along with him."

I nodded my head, showing that I understood. "You said that Caspian was the true heir to the throne, so that would mean that Caspian's father must have been the king. How did Miraz become king then?"

"After everything was over, Caspian told us that Miraz had murdered his father in order to achieve the throne," Edmund said, looking completely disgusted.

"What?" I screeched, completely appalled. "What kind of person does that? And just so that he could become king?"

Instead of answering, Edmund looking out the window, a deep frown on his face. I couldn't help but get the feeling that I had just put my foot in my mouth. I opened my mouth to say something, when a knock came from the door.

"Enter," Edmund said, going back to his desk.

The door opened, and I saw Striker, Trufflehunter and a mouse wearing the cutest head gear, enter. They all bowed to Edmund.

"Your majesty, we have come with the report from the Western Wood," Striker said, sitting on his haunches.

Seeing as how I was no longer needed, and to be honest, I really didn't want, or need, to hear what they were discussing, I excused myself and left. I stood outside the door, trying to decide if I should go back to my room, try to find Jenn and Cody, or just go exploring, when my stomach decided to put in its opinion.

"Okay, food first," I said, before taking off in a random direction since I had no idea where the kitchens were. Luckily, I was only walking for about ten minutes, when I spotted a cheetah walking up ahead.

"Excuse me," I called out, trying to get the cheetah's attention. I had picked up my pace so that I wouldn't have to shout down the hallway.

"Yes, milady, what can I do for you," asked the cheetah.

"I was wondering if you could tell me where the kitchens were."

"I am actually going there right now. If you will follow me, I will gladly take you there."

"Thank you very much," I said, following the cheetah while really paying attention to where we were going. I didn't want to have to ask where the kitchens were all the time.

After two minutes of walking, we had reached the kitchen.

"Here you go, milady," the cheetah said before walking to talk to a beaver.

"Thank you," I called out, before hunting for some food.

"Are you looking for something, milady?" a woman asked me.

"I was just looking for a snack," I said, smiling, "and none of that milady stuff. It is just Christine."

"Well, then, you may call me Mia," the woman said. She looked to be about thirty, and had black hair and the nicest grey eyes. "If you will wait here, I shall fetch you something."

"Thank you," I said, before she disappeared.

"Here you are," Mia said, handing me a sandwich and an apple.

"Thank you, Mia," I said, taking the apple and sandwich.

"You know, you say thank you a lot," she said, laughing, "I wish all the ladies that come to the palace are as nice as you."

"Are they not?" I asked. First Edmund's reaction to talking about some of the ladies, and now hearing Mia express her opinion. I got the feeling that ladies of higher status weren't that pleasant.

"Some of them are, but some are rather horrid," Mia said. "If you'll excuse me, I really must be getting back to work."

"Of course," I said, taking a look around, "and if you ever need help, I'm available. I loved to cook and bake."

"No, no," Mia said, "I couldn't ask you to do that."

"I insist," I said. "Besides, it's not like I have much else to do around here."

"I…thank you," she said, smiling, "I shall keep that in mind."

"See you, Mia," I said, waving before walking out of the kitchen.

As I munched on my sandwich, I decided to go visit Apollo. I hadn't been to the stables yet, and I wanted to stretch my legs. After a few minutes of walking, I was finally able to find the entrance of the palace. Feeling quite proud of myself, I walked towards the stables. I saw some workers along the way, who I waved to, but didn't stop to talk to. When I reached the stables, I saw that Apollo was in the paddock area, grazing.

"Hey, Apollo," I called, hopping onto the fence.

"Hello, Christine," Apollo said, walking over to me. "How was your day?"

"It was good, thank you for letting me ride you today," I said, offering him the apple, which he took.

"It was no problem," Apollo said, "If you want, I could be your horse."

"Okay, but I don't feel like I should be calling you my horse, considering you probably have as much intelligence as I do," I said.

"Well, we shall just call each other friend then," he said, giving me a horsey grin.

"That sounds good," I said, grinning back.

"So, what do you think of Narnia, now that you've been able to experience it for a day?" Apollo asked.

"It is a wonderful place. Everyone is so nice, well, all the people that I've met," I said. "It almost feels like something out of a fairytale. Don't tell anyone I said that though. Cody would never let me live it down."

Apollo made a sound that sounded like he was laughing. "Don't worry; your secret is safe with me."

As I sat, talking with Apollo, I didn't notice that the sun was going down until the sky was filled with pinks, purples and oranges.

"Apollo, it is time to come in now," a voice yelled from the entrance of the stables.

"I should go, and you should too," Apollo said. "Best get inside before it gets to dark out."

"I'm sure I will be fine. It isn't like someone is going to attack me," I said, giving Apollo a pat on the neck. "After all, Narnia is at a time of peace."

"Yes, but one can never be too careful," Apollo said. "Well, have a pleasant night, Christine."

"You too, Apollo," I said, "and thanks for being concerned."

He nodded his head, before walking toward a faun who was waiting. Smiling, I turned my body, so that I could see the sunset. It was a truly beautiful sight. The pinks, purples, reds and oranges made Narnia look even more magical. As I sat there, I couldn't help but feel at peace. When twilight started to set in, I slide off the fence and made my way back to the palace.

"Hey, Cinderella, where have you been?" a voice that I recognized as Cody's yelled from somewhere above me. Looking up, I saw him, Jenn, all the Pevensies and Caspian on one of the balconies. Cody and Jenn were leaning on the railing.

"Why am I Cinderella?" I asked, though I knew why.

"Because you clean people's places for them," Cody said, grinning. I knew that he was joking and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, I did that once," I said, "and I'm not Cinderella."

"You're right," Cody yelled, "You're not pretty enough or lady like enough."

"Ouch," I said, placing a hand over my heart. I knew that he was just kidding though.

"Don't listen to him, Tina," Jenn yelled. "You're very pretty!"

"Thank, Jenn," I said, "and don't worry. I take whatever he says with a big grain of salt."

By that time, I had reached where they were sitting on the balcony, and was now looking up at them.

"What were you doing anyways, Chris?" Lucy asked me, coming to stand at the railing. I smiled at her using one of my nicknames.

"I was just visiting Apollo, and was watching the sunset from there. What are you all doing?"

"We are just getting some fresh air before we retire for the night," Lucy said, smiling at me. I really liked the girl.

"Well, I think I'm going to bed," I said, covering a yawn, "Or else I will be sleeping outside."

Everyone chorused goodnight, before I walked into the castle and up to my room. Flopping onto the bed, after I had gotten ready for bed, I couldn't help but wonder about how Edmund had acted after I had voiced my horror at what Caspian's uncle had done to his father and tried to do to him. However, I didn't dwell on it long before sleep started to overtake me. I leaned over and blew out the candle, before falling back onto the bed and allowing sleep to come.

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><p><strong>And that's all she wrote ladies and gentlemen! Hope you liked it! Let me know! Wink wink. Till next time!<strong>

**Sweet Country Girl**


	8. Answers, Baking and Horses

**Hey everyone! I'm back! So, just a quick shout out to the following people who reviewed:**

Silver Eyed Slayer: Here's the update!

Storylover: Thanks! I'm glad you really like it! Yes, I always wondered that myself. Here's the update! Hope you like it!

**A very big thank you to ChocolatSugar for being a fabulous beta! Thank you so much! I will definitely watch for that. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Chronicles of Narnia.**

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><p><strong>Careful What You Wish For<strong>

**Answers, Baking and Horses**

I knew I was dreaming, even without opening my eyes.

How did I know this?

First, I can feel a light breeze blowing across my skin and the sun beating down on my face. It was a nice feeling though. I haven't lain outside in a long time. There was no way this could be possible if I was still in my room, even if I did leave the balcony door open. Second, I could smell hay, wheat and cow manure. The smells of my home.

Inhaling deeply, I slowly sat up and took in my surroundings. I was sitting in a pasture, with hay bales not too far off to my right. Looking to my left, I saw a field full of wheat across the river. Looking down at my attire, I noticed that I was no longer in my night gown. Instead, I was wearing my favorite long, dark purple skirt and a light blue t-shirt. I was currently barefoot. I couldn't help grinning, thinking about how Susan would probably have a heart attack. Well, maybe not, but she would not be best pleased. However, it could be worse. I could be in my bathing suit.

Smiling, I feel back down, lying with my arms thrown out from my sides. It felt good to just lay here and not have to worry about anything. The sound of footsteps reached my ears, but, at first, I didn't move. I just figured it could be a horse that my unconscious created. However, as the footsteps drew nearer, I noticed that whatever was making those sounds was too heavy to be a horse. It also sounded like it was close to the ground; like a wolf.

Sitting up, I turned my head in the direction that the footsteps seemed to be coming from, and felt my eyes bug out of my head. Walking towards me was a huge, but majestic lion! As it approached, my senses finally came back to me, and I scooted backwards a bit. Stupid, I know, but I was caught off guard. The lion stopped a few feet away from me, and let out a sound that sounded like a chuckle.

"You have nothing to be afraid of, young one," the lion said, in a deep voice that made me feel strangely calm. Not really knowing why, I felt that I could trust this lion.

"Um…okay," I said quietly, hoping not to anger him. The lion sat back on his haunches before lying on his stomach. Somehow, this gesture didn't make him seem as big or intimidating. "Who are you?"

The lion let out a low chuckle. "My name is Aslan."

I looked at him in confusion, before realization hit me like a truck. This was the Aslan that people were talking about.

"I see that you have heard of me," Aslan said, smiling slightly.

"Um, yes. Sorry about that," I said, feeling like a complete moron. How could I not recognize the true king of Narnia? Mind you, I've never actually seen a picture of him, but this certainly explained why there were some many lion statues all over the castle. Quickly remembering my manners, I curtseyed to Aslan, hoping that I didn't offend him.

"There is no need to apologize, young one. You did not know who I was physically," Aslan said.

I smiled, feeling a bit better. I felt more at ease around Aslan, but I still felt intimidated by the power that radiated from the great, golden lion in front of me.

"Now, I have a feeling that you have questions for me," he said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, yes," I said, before looking at him. "Everyone says that you brought Jenn, Cody and I to Narnia for a reason. What is that reason?"

"An evil presence is growing in power, and soon, a war will begin," Aslan said, looking grave.

"But I thought Narnia was in a state of peace right now? If there was a war starting, wouldn't there be some sign? I asked, confused.

"No one knows of this presence yet. It does not want to be known. You three are here because the kings and queens are going to need your assistance."

"Our assistance? What can we do to help? None of us have ever fought in a war, and, to be honest, I think they would do better without us."

Aslan shook his head. "No, young one, unless you three help, Narnia will fall into eternal darkness."

"But how? How can we possibly be of any help?"

"There is a prophecy. A prophecy about you three…

_All of Narnia is once again at peace_

_But that is soon about to cease. _

_The empire of darkness will rise,_

_As the light of Narnia slowly dies. _

_When everything seems dire_

_Call upon air, water and fire. _

_United, these three are strongest together._

_And will banish the darkness once and forever."_

As Aslan finished reciting this prophecy, all I could do was sit there, completely stunned. After a few minutes, I was able to find my voice, and it was full of doubt.

"How do you know that's about the three of us? It doesn't state that it is us. Heck, I would think that it was talking about something that could control those three elements."

"Ever since I became aware of what was happening in Narnia, I searched for those three elements. I looked all throughout Narnia in search of the three that could control fire, air, and water. However, I was unsuccessful in my search here," Aslan said, explaining his actions.

"And then you started to look in my world," I said.

"Yes," Aslan said, nodding, "I was searching for a while before I came upon you three. When I saw you, Jenn, and Cody; I knew that you were it. I observed your behaviors for a few weeks to make sure that I was right. When I was fully convinced, I had you three transported to Narnia."

"Why us?" I couldn't help asking.

The prophecy said that it was supposed to be air, water and fire. I had no idea how we fit any of those descriptions.

"Because you three each fit one of the elements," Aslan said, patiently.

I sat in silence for a few more minutes. I was just about to ask Aslan who we each were, when Aslan spoke.

"I must go now, young one," Aslan said, standing, "I believe that you are about to be awoken, and I have much to do." He then turned and started to walk away.

"Wait!" I called, "What element are we?"

"That will all come to light in due time, Christine," he said, looking at me before walking around a hay bale, and leaving my sight.

However, I didn't have any time to ponder that or the fact that he knew my name without me even telling him, before I felt someone shaking my shoulder.

"Christine. Christine. Christine!"

Opening my eyes, I saw Lucy standing beside my bed.

"Whiz goin on?" I asked, still half-asleep. Rubbing my eyes to rid them of sleep, I sat up.

"Well, it is now ten in the morning, and I decided to come wake you," Lucy said, going through my dresses. I couldn't help but smile. Lucy seemed to love to dress me.

Normally, I wasn't a morning person unless I woke up on my own, but it was hard to be cranky when you had your own ball of sunshine. Getting out of bed, I mentally debated to tell Lucy about my dream, but decided not to. It was silly anyways. I mean, there was no way that Jenn, Cody and I could be part of a prophecy that involved us fighting in a war. I will just chalk that crazy dream up to just being over tired, and having too much excitement in my life.

"Thank you for waking me. I'm not used to not having an alarm clock," I said, stretching out my muscles. "I'm guessing I missed breakfast?"

"Breakfast has passed, but I am sure if you went down to the kitchens, you could find something," Lucy said, laying out a red dress on my bed. "Also, I have some errands to do for Susan in town today, and I was wondering if you would like to accompany me?"

"I would love too, but, if you don't mind my asking, don't you have some kind of royal duties to do?"

"No, not today," she said, smiling, "Everyone else does, but this is my free day. Actually, I am helping Susan get ready for the ball, and since she is busy today, I offered to do some planning."

"Well, you're a very kind sister," I said, from just inside the bathroom where I was washing my face. Grabbing a towel, I walked back into my bedroom. "So, when did you want to leave?"

"I have some stuff that I have to take care of here first, so, how does one o'clock sound?"

"Well, I will have to check my busy schedule, but I'm sure that that will work for me," I said, sarcastically, before grinning. Quickly slipping into my dress, I was just about to grab the hairbrush when Lucy beat me too it.

"Do you mind?" She asked, gesturing to the hairbrush. "I love to do people's hair."

"Well, you can try," I said, shaking my very frizzy hair, "But it refuses to be in any tame position. I usually wear it in a ponytail."

"Hmmm, well, I'm a queen so I will order it to listen," she said in such a serious voice, I couldn't help but laugh. This caused her to start laughing, and soon we were both laughing.

"Well, I'm sure it will listen to you then," I said, grinning.

Setting to work on my hair, Lucy and I started to play a game of twenty questions. I found out that her favorite color was red. The very first person she met in Narnia was a faun named Mr. Tummnus. She had gone to battle before, though her brothers didn't like it, and her favorite Christmas present was her cordial. Apparently it contained the juice of the fire flower, and with one drop, it could help any wound.

"Wow," I said, after she told me that, "That would come in really handy."

"It does," she said, tying a ribbon in my hair. I was currently facing away from the mirror because she didn't want me to see it. "Okay, all finished. Now you can look."

Turning to face the mirror, I beamed. Lucy had put my hair up in a French braid and had tied it with a gold ribbon.

"I love it, Lucy," I said, giving her a hug, "Thank you so much!"

"I'm glad you like it," she said, beaming.

_Knock Knock Knock_

"Come in," I called, quickly applying some mascara.

"Good morning your majesty, Christine," Striker said, bowing to Lucy and giving me a nod.

"Good morning, Striker," I said, pulling on my shoes. "How are you?"

"I am well, thank you for asking," he said before turning to Lucy. "I am sorry to interrupt, but Queen Susan has asked that you meet her in her room in two minutes. She says that it is about some last minute things that she needs you to get for her in town."

"Okay, thank you, Striker," Lucy said, walking to the door. She turned to me. "So, do you want to meet at the stables at one?"

"Sure, sounds good," I replied, before she nodded and then disappeared out the door. Striker, however, still stood in the doorway.

"Did you need something, Striker?" I asked, walking to the door.

"No, Christine, I was just wondering how you are faring," he said, backing out of the doorway so that I could exit.

"I am doing very well," I said, smiling down at him. "Thank you for asking. Do you by chance know where Jenn and Cody are at?"

"I believe I saw the pair an hour ago," Striker said as we started down the hallway, towards the kitchen, "they were walking towards the beach."

"Okay," I said. They deserved some time to themselves. "That's cool."

"You do not mind being on your own?" Striker asked, looking at me.

"Oh, not at all. Those two deserve some time alone. Plus, I sometimes feel like a third wheel on a bicycle," I said. I felt like I could trust Striker, and I knew that he wouldn't go spreading that around the castle.

"A third wheel? What does that mean?"

"I just mean that sometimes I don't feel like I belong with them," I said, "I know it's stupid, but when they get really cutesy, it just makes it really awkward to be around them."

"Oh. Do you not have a mate?" Striker asked, before catching himself. "I apologize. That was too personal a question."

"No, no, it's fine," I said, waving my hand after I recovered from the sudden question. "I figured someone would ask that at some point. No, I don't have a mate, or as we humans call them, a boyfriend."

Striker just nodded his head.

"So, how is Rollio? I haven't seen him since we came to the castle."

"He is well. He went back to the den when we got to the castle. He was going to tell him mother and siblings about what has happened."

"Oh yeah," I said, taking note of the small smile on Striker's face. "Do you miss them?"

"Sometimes it is hard to be away from them, but I go visit them on my off days."

"Well, that's good," I said, before a hare bounded up to us.

"Striker, the kings request your presence in the meeting room," the hare said before turning and running back down the hallway, not waiting for Striker's reply.

"I must go. Duty calls," Striker said, nodding to me. "Have a good day, Christine."

"Thanks, Striker," I said, before he took off after the hare.

Continuing down the hallway, I quickly arrived at the kitchens. Standing in the doorway, I noticed that there wasn't anyone in the kitchens at the present moment. Shrugging, I walked in and looked around for some food. I spotted some left over toast and some eggs. Grabbing a clean plate off the drying rack, I piled some eggs and two pieces of toast onto it before sitting on a stool.

"Why didn't you wait, and I could have made you some fresh eggs," a voice said from the door. Jerking in surprise, I looked to see Mia standing there, with dishes full of food in her hands.

"These are perfectly fine," I said, shoveling more eggs into my mouth, "You look busy anyways. Thank you for the offer though."

"You're very welcome," Mia said, coming into the room and placing some dishes onto the counter. "What have you got planned today?"

"I am going with Lucy into town later to help her with some errands. Right now I am getting some breakfast, and trying to find something to do."

"Well, if you want, would you be interested in delivering some snacks to the meeting room?" Mia asked. "All the other cooks and servers are currently on their break, and I have to prepare some desserts for Queen Susan to sample."

"Oh, for sure," I said, placing the now empty plate into the sink. "That gives me something to do." I took the dishes, but then stopped. "Where is the meeting room?"

"You just take a right out this door, walk down the hallway till the end, take a left, go up the first flight of stairs you see, walk down that hallway, take a left and it's your first door on the left," she said, quickly rattling it off. Seeing me expression, she let out a small laugh. "Do you think you could find it?"

Getting rid of my stunned deer expression, I nodded. "Yeah, and if I can't, then I will come back." Mia nodded before I walked out the door.

Well, I thought I could find the place. Trying to remember what Mia said, I soon found myself in some unknown part of the castle. I tried to find my way back to the kitchens, but ended up getting even more lost.

"This place really needs a map," I muttered, doing a complete turn, trying to figure out which way to go. Sighing, I slumped against the wall. "So, I don't suppose you know how to get to the meeting room by chance?" I rhetorically asked the suit of armor beside me.

"If you give me one of those sandwiches, I could tell you the way," a voice said from behind the armor.

"What the-!" I yelled, jumping back from the armor. The sound of laugher filled my ears as I watched Edmund walk out from behind it, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"I'm sorry," he said, not sounding sorry at all, "But that was too good an opportunity to pass up."

"You know, if people keep doing that, I'm going die ten years earlier," I said.

"Why?"

"People like to scare the snot out of me," I said, looking around again. "Um, you wouldn't happen to know the way to the meeting room would you?"

"I was just on my way there when I saw you," Edmund said, then gestured to the food. "That for the meeting?"

"Yes," I said, jerking the food back as he tried to swipe some.

"Well, I may help you if you give me one of those sandwiches," he said, smirking.

I raised my eyebrows. "Seriously? You're really bargaining about this?"

"Yup," he said, still smirking.

Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes. Trust a guy to go for food. "Okay, you have yourself a deal."

"Good," he said before taking a sandwich. Then he took one of the trays.

"Thanks," I said, walking beside him as we made our way to the meeting room, "Oh, and if you drop that, I'm not taking the blame."

"I wouldn't drop it. I have the reflexes of a cat," he said. Normally, I would have thought that he was just boosting, but after seeing him with a sword, I believed that. "So, why were you delivering these to the meeting room anyways?"

"I was helping out Mia. She asked if I could do it because everyone else was on break, and I said that I could. It isn't like I'm very busy anyways," I replied. "I am just trying to kill time until I have to meet Lucy at the stables. I am going with her into town."

"So, you get to go have fun with Lu while the rest of us are working?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, it's not like I have many duties to do," I said, "Besides, I am helping Lucy get preparations ready for the ball, so technically, I am working."

"And have fun doing it," Edmund said, "While the rest of us are stuck in meetings."

"Aw, poor you," I said, moving my index finger over my thumb.

"What are you doing?" Edmund asked, watching my hand.

"Playing the world's smallest violin," I replied, smirking at him. Chuckling, he bumped me lightly.

"Hey," I said, before bumping him back.

Soon, we were walking down the hallway and nudging each other, being careful not to upset the trays. Laughing, we stopped outside a door, from which I could hear voices on the other side.

"Well, thank you for helping me again," I said, "You know, you always seem to be in the right place at the right time."

"Well, it would be terrible if someone didn't help you. After all, we wouldn't have this delicious food for the meeting, and that would be terrible," he said.

"Oh would it now?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, "And why is that?"

"You've obviously never been to a meeting like this. People get irritable when they are hungry," he said, taking the other tray from me.

"No, can't say I have. Well, have fun at your meeting!" I said, waving and walking back down the hallway. However, after a few steps, I stopped. Turning, I saw that Edmund was still standing outside the door looking at me with a raised eyebrow. "Which way to the kitchens?"

Bursting out laughing, he told me the directions. Yelling my thanks, I followed the directions, and, thankfully, ended back at the kitchens.

"That took longer than expected," Mia said, as I walked back into the kitchen, "Did you get lost?"

"Yeah," I said, smiling sheepishly, "But I ran into Edmund, and he showed me where it was."

"You ran into him? Did you spill the food?" Mia asked a surprised and somewhat horrified look on her face.

"What? Oh! No, no," I said, waving my hands, "It's just an expression. It means that I met up with him in the hallway."

"Oh," Mia said, looking relieved, "Well, that is good. Thank you for doing that again."

"Mia, you don't have to keep thanking me," I said smiling. "What are you making?"

"Right now, I am about to bake a three layered lemon strawberry cake," she said, pouring some batter into the biggest cake pan.

"That sounds good," I said, "Do you need any help?"

"Do you bake?" she asked, pouring more batter into the next pan.

"I've done some baking. Nothing really fancy, but my friends and family have told me that my chocolate chip cookies and banana chocolate chip muffins were really good."

"Hmm, I can't say that I've ever made something like that," Mia said, looking thoughtful. "Would you care to make some, and we can see how they turn out?"

"Sure," I said, getting excited, "But I will probably only be able to make the cookies because I have to meet Lucy soon."

"Of course. You can just come back whenever you want, and cook up the muffins."

"Thanks," I said, grabbing some ingredients from the counter and setting to work.

As we baked, I got to know more about Mia. She reminded me of my mother in a way.

"Do you have a family?" I asked, and then rethought about what I just asked. "Sorry if that was too personal." I was still trying to figure out what was appropriate to ask and what wasn't.

"That's quite alright, dearie," she said, laughing, "I have one daughter. She works in the palace also, tending to the gardens."

"This place has gardens?" I asked, surprised. Hey, I haven't had time to fully explore the castle and its grounds; sue me.

"Yes, and they are most spectacular. My daughter is around your age, actually," Mia said, rolling dough.

"Well, I shall have to go have a look for myself one of these days," I said, placing the cookie dough onto a sheet.

"The gardens are Queen Susan's favorite part of the castle, and she said that Tiffany takes great care of them," Mia said, all but beaming with pride at the compliment that she received about her daughter.

Smiling, I was really happy for Mia and Tiffany. By the sounds of things, they hadn't had the best life when the Telmarines were in complete control of Narnia. Mia's husband was killed because he led an uprising against Miraz, which left Mia to raise Tiffany all by herself. They had managed to get by, and when Caspian was crowned king, he offered them jobs at the palace. As I watched Mia, I could tell that she truly loved working here.

"Mia, could you tell me what time it is?" I asked, looking sheepish again. I was still learning how to tell time by the position of the sun, and not from a clock.

"It is close to one," Mia said, turning to me, "I can watch your cookies for you, and take them out when they are done. You mustn't keep Queen Lucy waiting."

"Thank you, Mia," I said, placing the raw cookies over the fire. "Have a good day. I will see what time I get back from town."

"Of course," she said, waving at me, "Have fun!"

"Thanks!" I said, "I will!"

Walking out of the kitchens, I quickly found my way back to my room so that I could grab my riding boots. Slipping them on, I made my way to the stables.

"Hello, Apollo," I said, walking to Apollo's stall. No one had been outside when I had reached the stables, so I decided to just walk in. "Feel like going for another ride into town today?"

"Of course," he said, "I am always up for a ride. Why are we going into town again, though?"

"Lucy needs to get some stuff for Susan that is needed for the ball," I said, before looking around, "Do you happen to know where they keep the saddles and tackle? I could saddle you and Lucy's horse."

"That stuff is just in the room off to the right of the door, and Lucy's horse is Adalia," Apollo said, jerking his head in the general direction and answering my unanswered question.

"Okay. Thanks," I said, walking into the room and looking at the tackle and saddles. Each horse had their names posted on the walls, and their saddles and tackle were places below them. Impressed with the organization of the place, I grabbed Apollo's saddle and tackle first.

Walking back out into the main stable, I placed the tackle by the door before fetching Apollo from his stall.

"I see that you've done this before," Apollo said as I saddled him up. I noticed that the stirrups were longer too.

"Yes, I have," I replied, fastening the halter. "Cody lives on a farm back in my world, so the three of us would always go out riding."

Once I had finished with Apollo, I let him outside the stable, knowing that he wouldn't run away, and fetched Adalia's saddle and tackle.

"Um, which one of you is Adalia?" I asked the horses, feeling a little stupid. What if she wasn't a talking horse? My doubts were quickly extinguished when a beautiful dapple grey mare poked her head out of her stall. I noticed that that was also the horse that Lucy had ridden yesterday.

"That would be me," she said, in a gentle voice.

Setting down her stuff, I walked over to her stall and led her out.

"Is Lucy going out riding today?" she asked, as I started to saddle her up.

"Yes, we are going into town today, and I am early, so I figured that I would get you guys saddled up," I replied.

"Oh, well, that is very thoughtful of you," Adalia said, "Most girls that visit here are frightened of us."

"I've heard some interesting stories," I said, leading Adalia out of the stables and over to where Apollo was standing, talking with a faun.

"Milady, you really didn't need to get these horses ready. I would have been happy to do it if you would have hollered," the faun said.

"It is no problem," I said, patting Apollo on the neck. "I like to do it. It gives you some bonding time with the horses."

"That it does," the faun said, smiling, before bowing, "I am Akil."

"Nice to meet you, Akil. My name is Christine," I said, giving him a curtsey.

"You don't have to curtsey to me, Lady Christine," Akil said, "That is just for nobles. Also, I know who you are."

"Well, since I don't have to curtsey to you, you can just call me Christine. No lady in front," I said, "And how do you know me?" I figured that people around the castle would know that Jenn, Cody and I were staying there, but I've only properly met a handful of the people.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it was you who almost nailed my cousin with an arrow. Am I correct?"

Flushing in embarrassment, I nodded. "I actually have no idea how that happened. My aim is awful, so how I almost hit him is a complete mystery. Is he alright?"

"Oh, he's fine," Akil said, smiling, "He pays more attention to what goes on around him now, which is a great thing. So, thank you for your services."

"Um, you're welcome?" I asked, not really sure how to take that.

"Christine!"

Turning, I saw Lucy quickly making her way over to us, looking like she was trying not to run. Striker and the mouse with the cute hat were with her.

"I'm so sorry for being late," Lucy said, once she had reached us. "I had to convince Peter that I didn't need a huge guard as escorts to town."

"That's fine,' I replied, smiling, "So, I take it you were able to convince him then?" I was able to get onto Apollo all by myself this time, which gave me a sense of satisfaction.

"Yes," Lucy said, climbing onto Adalia, "Striker and Reepicheep will be accompanying us. Plus, I brought my dagger, just in case."

"Okay," I said, taking note of the small but deadly looking dagger hanging from a belt that was tied around Lucy's waist. Then I turned to the mouse, who was currently sitting on the horn of my saddle, looking at me.

"You were the girl who was cleaning King Edmund's study the other day," he said.

"Yes, that was me," I said, smiling at him. "My name is Christine."

"I am Reepicheep, one of Narnia's finest knights," he said, bowing.

"I would not doubt that in the least," I said.

"Really? Most humans don't think that until they've seen me fight," Reepicheep said, looking surprised.

"Just because someone is small, doesn't mean that they can't hold their own," I said, "I would know."

"So, shall we head into town? Peter told me that we had to be back before dark," Lucy said, rolling her eyes.

"We shall," I said, nudging Apollo forward, "And Peter is just looking out for you."

"I know, but sometimes he can be too protective. It is rather annoying," Lucy said, giving me an exasperated look.

"Really? I don't have any older brothers, so I wouldn't really know," I said, looking at Lucy. "Do you want to race?"

"Sure," she said, right before Adalia took off.

"Hey," I yelled, laughing, as Apollo raced forward to catch them, "That's cheating!"

"Well, you didn't say that we had to wait till the count of three!" Lucy yelled back, laughing.

"I guess that's true," I said, smiling.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, what did you think of the chapter? Love it? Hate it? Also, this is the longest chapter so far. It is fourteen pages in Word. Well, this is Sweet Country Girl signing out until next time!<strong>


	9. More Shopping and Dance Lessons

**Hey everyone! So, first off, I am really, really sorry about not updating in such a long time. This past month was killer school wise. Thankfully, I am now done my second year of university and am on summer vacation. I will be able to update way more. **

**Secondly, I would like to thank the following person for their review:**

Wisham497: Thank you! I love getting feedback! I'm really glad you like this story. I've read some pretty good Edmund/Oc stories myself, so for you to say that this is a good one makes me smile. Thanks again for the review.

**Thirdly, and lastly, I would like to give ChocolatSugar, my wonder beta, a big thank you in helping me with my story. You are awesome! **

**Now, enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Chronicles of Narnia. If I did, there would be a book about the Golden Age.**

**Careful What You Wish For**

**Chapter Nine: More Shopping and Dance Lessons**

"So, I'm pretty sure you only won because you cheated," I said to Lucy, as we slowly made our way down the main street of the town.

"Like I said before, I didn't cheat because you didn't say that we had to wait till the count of three," Lucy said, refusing to believe anything else.

We looked at each other for a minute before I cracked a smile, which caused her to smile in return. Aslan definitely gave her the right title. She was determined, which some people back in my world would have mistaken for stubbornness.

"Okay, you won fair and square….I guess," I said, "So, where exactly are we headed too?"

"We have to go pick up some flower samples, some napkin samples and Susan wants me to pick up this new book for her."

"Don't you guys have a library somewhere in that palace?" I asked Lucy. I still hadn't been able to explore the castle.

"Yes, we do, but Su has read all the books that catch her interest," Lucy said, waving to a little beaver.

"Speaking of catching her interest, what is up with her and Caspian?" I asked, watching Lucy's face to see if I had overstepped my bounds. She just looked at me with a smile on her face.

"So, you noticed too?"

"Yes, Lu, I have," I said. Anything with half a brain and a pair of eyes could have seen it. I kept that comment to myself.

I hadn't had much of a chance to talk with either of them for long, but the times that I've seen them together, they would look at each other with sheep eyes.

"I don't know why they don't just start courting already," Lucy said, sighing in exasperation, "Well, actually I know of three reasons."

"Oh? What are those three reasons?" I asked.

"Well, the first one is that they both like each other, but won't admit it to one another."

I nodded my head, "And the other two?"

"Peter and Edmund; they are very protective of us when it comes to suitors," Lucy said, shaking her head, and then turned into a store that sold napkins and other kinds of cloth.

"Isn't that in their job description as brothers?" I asked, running my hands along some cotton material.

"I guess," Lucy said, "But Su has gotten the worst of it. Pretty much all of the suitors that have come calling, have come for her, since I am not of age yet."

"When do you become of age?"

"When you turn eighteen, you have a big coming out ball. It is quite remarkable really," Lucy said, before turning to talk with the store owner.

Taking a look around, I noticed that this place actually sold silk napkins.

"Would someone actually use these?" I asked Striker, who was standing beside me. Reepicheep was with Lucy.

"I guess some people must if they are being sold," Striker said, "You humans have some very weird cleaning habits."

"Says the one that licks himself to get clean," I said teasingly, smirking at Striker.

"Well, you work with what you have got," he said, smiling.

"This is true," I said, then noticed that more people were coming into the store. I quickly found Lucy and told her that I would just wait outside. I wasn't doing anything in the store anyways, and it was getting really busy.

Exiting the store, I went and looked at the different stalls that were setup outside the stores. Striker followed after me, taking his duty as guard very seriously.

"This is really pretty," I said, picking up a necklace from a stall that was selling jewelry.

The necklace was silver and had a little white gem that hung off of what looked to be a heart made out of woven metal.

"I didn't really take you for the jewelry type," Striker said, as I examined the necklace.

"Well, I don't wear it often because I am usually doing some activity where it isn't sensible for me to wear jewelry, but I do like to wear it when I can. It is usually just a necklace though," I replied, before turning to the faun, "Excuse me, how much for this necklace?"

"It is fifteen gold pieces," the faun said.

"Okay, thank you," I said, feeling a little saddened. I didn't have that much money with me, and there was no way that I was letting Lucy buy me it. She, and everyone else, had already done more than enough. Placing it back onto the counter, I gestured to Striker, and we went and stood by the entrance to the napkin store. Lucy still hadn't made an appearance yet.

"Did you not like that necklace?" Striker asked, sitting on his haunches.

"I did, but I can't afford it."

"I am sure Queen Lucy would buy it for you if you asked."

I shook my head. "No, she has already done enough. Plus, I don't need the necklace."

Striker opened his mouth to reply, but, just then, Lucy and Reepicheep exited the store.

"Finally," Lucy said, shifting the basket in her hands, "I thought that would never end."

"Why did it take so long? Do you want some help?" I asked, watching her.

"No, no," she said, waving her hand, "It is only napkins. It took so long because Su order so many, and she couldn't find some of them. She did eventually, which is good."

"That's good," I said, as we made our way down the street, towards a stall that was selling flowers.

"Could you hang onto these, please?" Lucy asked when we had reached the merchant.

"Sure," I said, taking the basket so that Lucy could do her business.

Taking a peek into the basket, I saw that there were tons of napkin samples. Looking at the pile, I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows. Susan really got into planning when it came to balls if the napkin sample was any indication.

After two minutes, Lucy had selected the flower samples that Susan had ordered, and we made our way to the bookstore. The flowers were going to be sent to the palace with a delivery person.

I thought this was a good thing because the flowers probably wouldn't have made it back in good condition if I had to hold onto them.

"Hello, Queen Lucy," said a little old, human man. "Who is your friend?"

"Hello, Mr. Mirano. This is Christine. Christine, this is Mr. Mirano."

"Nice to meet you," I said, giving a curtsey.

"The pleasure is mine," Mr. Mirano said before turning to Lucy, "So; I am guessing that Queen Susan is in need of another book?"

"Yes," Lucy said, laughing, before asking Mr. Mirano if he had the book that Susan was looking for.

"I take it Susan purchases books from her quite a bit?" I asked Reepicheep and Striker.

"Yes," Reepicheep said, "I have never seen someone read as much as Queen Susan, though King Edmund does come close sometimes. That is, when they don't have any duties to take care of."

"Wow, and I thought I read a lot," I said, before Mr. Mirano returned with the book.

"Thank you, Mr. Mirano," Lucy said, handing him some gold pieces when she took the book, "Susan will be overjoyed."

"It is always a great service to serve your royal highnesses," he said, bowing to her.

Saying our goodbyes, Lucy, Reepicheep, Striker and I exited the store.

"That didn't take long at all," Lucy said, as we walked. "Peter didn't need to tell me to be back before dark. We will be back in plenty of time."

"So, who is all coming to this ball?" I asked Lucy as we went to fetch the horses.

"People from Archenland and Calormen; most of the Narnians and you three," she said. "Though, some royals from Calormine are coming a few days earlier."

"Why?" I asked, as I swung up into the saddle.

"The Calormen king requested a talk with us, and because the relationship between Calormen and Narnia is rather fragile, Peter agreed to avoid any disagreements," Lucy said, not looking thrilled at all. "You are so lucky you don't have to be present. It is really dull, and, between you and me, those royals are right snobs. The ladies are no better, either."

"You have my deepest sympathy," I said,

"Thanks."

"What is the ball itself like?" I asked Lucy, after we had been riding in silence for ten minutes. Since there was tons of daylight left, we were taking the ride at a leisurely pace.

"Oh, the balls are lots of fun," Lucy said, grinning at me. "The music and dancing are wonderful, and everyone has a splendid time. Well, everyone except Edmund."

"He doesn't enjoy the balls?"

"He enjoyed balls until he became of age. Ever since then, he has hated them. This is due to the fact that the ladies now throw themselves at him. He says that it is really annoying, and makes it hard to enjoy the ball, when you have someone telling you their life story."

"I can see how that would make balls less appealing."

Lucy nodded, and then frowned, "Some of the girls that try to get Edmund's attention are not what he needs. They just want him for his title. They tried to go for Peter, but when he rejected them, they go for Ed. It is rather sad."

"None have tried to go for Caspian?"

"People can see that Su likes him, so they don't try it," Lucy said.

"Lucky guy," I said, "So, has anyone caught your interest?"

"No, not yet," Lucy said, "Which is probably a good thing because Peter would go crazy. What about you? Do you have someone?"

"Nope," I said, "Still single."

"Maybe you will meet someone at the ball."

"Maybe, though I'm not really one for long distance relationships. Plus, what would happen if I do meet a guy, and then Jenn, Cody and I have to go back home?"

"You make a good point," Lucy said, "I guess we will just have to see what happens."

"Yeah," I said, before switching topics.

After twenty minutes of riding, the palace came into view. As we neared the castle, I brought Apollo to a stop, and climbed off.

"What are you doing, Chris?" Lucy asked, turning to look at me.

"I decided that I want to walk the rest of the way. I haven't had a proper chance to look at the grounds," I said, looking up at her.

"Okay," Lucy said, "I need to deliver these samples to Su, so I shall see you at the lessons."

"What lessons?" I asked, as she was walking away, with Apollo following.

"Your etiquette and dance lessons!" she yelled back.

"When was this planned?" I yelled, but got no reply because she was out of hearing range. Sighing, I looked at Striker, "Any chance that they would forget about it, if I went and hide?"

Striker shook his head, "They will probably just send the wolves to find you."

"Great," I said, before starting off.

"My feet hurt," I said, flopping down onto the ground that was shaded by a cherry blossom tree.

"Well, what do you expect? You had been walking for thirty minutes, exploring the grounds," Striker said, from where he was laying.

"That is true," I said, taking of my shoes, and rubbing my sore feet.

Once the pain had disappeared, I fell back onto the ground, closing my eyes. Striker way lying next to me, yet neither of us spoke. We just enjoyed the fresh air and the sounds. I could hear bees, and the muffled voices of people talking, but the thing that I heard the clearest was the sound of music. It sounded like it was coming from an acoustic guitar. I was feeling too lazy to go and investigate, so I just enjoyed the music.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, I could feel someone poking my shoulder. Opening my eyes, I turned my head to see Striker, and a small brown rabbit, looking at me.

"You have got to be one of the hardest people to wake up," he said when he saw that I was awake. "I've been trying to wake you up for the past five minutes. Luckyfoot says that it is time for your lessons."

"Gee, thanks," I said sarcastically, standing up. As we walked into the castle, I couldn't help but wonder what the parents of Luckyfoot were thinking when they named him or her that. Mind you, I've heard some weird human names too.

"What took you so long?" Jenn asked when Striker, Luckyfoot and I entered the ballroom/throne room.

"The lady decided to take a nap, and is rather hard to wake up," Luckyfoot said.

"I thought you and Cody had gone to the beach?" I asked, sitting by Jenn and Lucy.

"We did, but we came back early, and then Susan told me about these lessons," Jenn said. "Cody gets free time till the dancing lessons.

"Enough talking," the woman said, "I am Lydia, and I have come upon the request of Queen Susan to teach you girls how to be ladies. The first lesson is to be on time." She looked pointedly at me. "Ladies are never late for anything."

For the next two hours, Jenn and I were put through lady-like boot camp, and I mean that literally.

"This woman is harsh," I whispered to Lucy, as I walked back and forth for Lydia.

"She's strict, but she helped Su and me. She means well," Lucy said looking at me sympathetically before Lydia spoke.

"Stand up straight, girl! You aren't carrying a huge weight on your shoulders! Shoulders back! Head up!"

"I feel completely ridiculous!" I said, walking again, doing as she said.

"Put this on your head," she said, handing me a book.

Repressing the urge to say 'Yes, Ma'am', I grabbed the book and placed it on my head. Needless to say, it didn't stay there. I was picking the book up, when the doors opened, and in came Cody, Edmund, Peter and Caspian.

"Ladies do not pick up books like a man! Do it gracefully!" Lydia barked at me.

My fingers clenched around the book, as my annoyance started to turn to anger. She had been on my case the most, and it was getting on my last nerve. I bit down on my tongue, to keep my thoughts from turning into words.

Placing the book back on my head, and managing to keep it there, I walked to where Lucy was standing.

"You aren't a piece of wood! Don't walk so stiffly!" Lydia said.

Clenching my teeth, I tried to loosen up my posture, but that is not really easy to do when you're mad. I walked back and forth four more times before Lydia said that we were done for the day.

"For the day?" Jenn asked, once Lydia had left. "You mean that we have to do that again?"

"Lydia wants to work with you for one more day," Susan said to Jenn, then turned to me, "She thinks that you will need a few more days of work."

"Yippee," I said sarcastically, slamming the book onto the table.

"So, I say it's safe to say that you don't like her," Cody said, walking over to us.

"No shit, Sherlock," I said, taking a few deeps breaths to calm myself, and muttering some rather unladylike things about Lydia.

"Now, Christine, it isn't ladylike to swear," Edmund said, wagging his finger at me. I felt my eye twitch.

"Yeah, well, I'm not changing how I act because some old toad says that I have too," I said, before crossing the room to get to the door.

"Where are you going?" Susan asked, "Your dance lessons start soon."

"I'll be back. I just need to go let my anger out," I said, before leaving the room.

I walked to the armory, and grabbed a training sword. Then I looked for the dummy that Susan uses for her target practice. After locating it in a corner, I took the dummy and set it up in the training grounds. Once it was set up, I practiced my swordsmanship on it. Needless to say, by the time I felt better, the dummy had many stabs wounds in it.

Brushing some loose hair out of my face, I dropped the sword and went to retrieve the dummy. Turning around, I almost had a heart attack. I could feel that I had the deer caught in headlights look.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," Edmund said from where he was standing beside the fence. "You were gone awhile, so I decided to come and find you."

"How did you know to come here?" I asked, carrying the dummy under my arm, and the sword in the other.

"Jenn said that when you go to let off anger, that usually involves hitting something, so I decided to check here," he said, taking the sword. "It is really the only place you can do that anyways."

"That's true," I said, still feeling a bit better. "Can you imagine what that old toad would have said if she would have seen the display right now? She probably would have had a heart attack!"

Then I put my face into one of disapproval and disgust. "Ladies don't sword fight or do anything where they can get dirty. They are prim and proper, and must not fool around with activities that are meant for men," I said, doing my best impression of her.

"Wow, that was scarily accurate," Edmund said, before doing his own imitation. "Ladies are to be soft spoken and polite to everyone they see."

"That was pretty good, but you need to make your voice higher," I said, laughing at the look he gave me.

"I don't think that can happen," he said, as we put away the sword and dummy. "So, ready for some dance lessons?"

"I think the real question is do I have a choice?" I asked him, as we walked back to the throne room.

"With Su, not really," he said, "I've tried to get out of dancing lessons before, and she always finds me."

"I thought you guys would be experts by now."

"Susan says that we can always use practice. I would rather practice sword fighting."

"Well, the sooner that this gets started, the sooner it will be done," I said, walking into the throne room.

"That's true," he said, looking at everyone.

"Where'd you find her? Kicking the stuffing out of a dummy?" Cody asked, from where he was sitting.

"Pretty much," he said, "Except it was more like stabbing."

"Stabbing?" Cody asked, than it clicked. "You got your hands on a sword? Was anyone hurt?"

"The only thing hurt was the practice dummy that Susan uses," I said, than changed the topic. "So, are we going to do this dance lesson?"

"Yes," Susan said, as Lucy set up something that looked like a record player. "The partners will be Peter and Jenn, Cody and Lucy, Edmund and Chris, and Caspian and I. Alright, pair up!"

"So, you're the poor soul whose feet I get to step on," I said, standing beside Edmund.

"Do you not dance at all?"

"I dance, but not this kind of dancing," I said.

"What kind of dancing do you do then?"

Thankfully, I was saved from having to explain the kind of dancing that people from my world do, by Susan.

"We will start off easy, so the first dance is going to be a foxtrot. Caspian and I will demonstrate for Jenn, Cody and Chris, than we will all try it," she said, before starting the music.

As they danced, Susan counted out the beats, so that it would be easy to follow. After they finished, she turned to look at Jenn, Cody and I. "So, any questions?"

"Yeah, how do you expect us to do that?" Cody asked, looking uncertain.

"Oh, you will get it eventually. Now, come on. Try it," she said, starting the music again.

"I'm just going to apologize now for stepping on your feet," I said, facing Edmund.

"I'll help you," he said, before the dance started.

Needless to say, it could have gone better. But, then again, it could have gone worse. I only stepped on Edmund's feet a few times, but I had trouble getting the beat.

"Well, that went fairly well for your first time," Susan said, as we all lounged outside on the balcony that was off the throne room.

"Yeah, no one is crippled, though Edmund is limping a bit," Peter said.

"That will go away in a few hours," Susan said, shooting Peter a look.

I was listening to their conversation with half an ear, when I remembered that I still had muffins to make. "Oh, I just remembered that I still have muffins to make!" I bolted out of the chair and into the room before anyone could say anything.

When I arrived at the kitchens, I saw Mia talking with a few others workers.

"Hey, Mia," I said, approaching her once she had finished her conversation. "I would have come sooner, but I had dance and etiquette lessons."

"That is perfectly alright, Christine. Your cookies turned out wonderful, and I have a quite a time keeping people from trying any of them," Mia said.

"Oh, you can have some if you want. Can I still make my muffins?" I asked.

"Of course," she said, "Everything is over there." She gestured to the table, where most of the ingredients were still sitting.

"Thanks, Mia!" I said, grabbing an apron and setting to work.

**So, here is the next chapter. I'm sorry for the long wait, once again, and that it was only a filler chapter, but I wanted to show Lucy and Christine becoming friends. The next chapter will be way better! I promise! **

**So, what did you think of the chapter? Should I go at a faster pace? Let me know in a review! Pretty please? Thanks and until next time, which hopefully won't be as long! Sorry once again!**


	10. Something Wicked This Way Comes

**Hey, y'all! I am back for another chapter, and there is definitely more action in this. Well, considering the last chapter was just a filler, there would be more action. Anyways, thanks for reading. I, unfortunately, didn't receive any reviews for the last chapter, so I am just going by the hits counter. **

**Now, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia.**

**Story edit: It has come to my attention that I was spelling Calormene wrong, and that they have Tisrocs and Tarkaans; not kings and lords. I have now fixed this mistake.  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Careful What You Wish For<strong>

**Something Wicked This Way Comes**

"I can't believe that it has been a week and a half since Cody, Jenn and I first arrived in Narnia," I said, watching the clouds go by.

"Yes, it does seem very unbelievable," Apollo said, standing beside me. "What was the saying that I overheard Queen Lucy say? Time flies when you are having fun?"

"That's the one," I said, smiling. "You aren't getting annoyed with me for taking you out so much, are you?"

"Why would I be annoyed about that?" Apollo asked, looking a little offended. "I always enjoy our outings, and, to be honest, the way the Calormene horses react to people does not sit well with me."

The Calormene party had arrived today, which is part of the reason why Apollo and I were out in the clearing. I wasn't too keen on meeting these people, and decided to put off the meeting for a bit. Plus, it was a nice day, and I had the day off from training.

"How do they act?" I asked, sitting up so I could look at him properly.

"They shy away when some of the workers walk past their stalls, and they look really uneasy. It is as if they expect to be hit."

I furrowed my brow in thought, and what I was thinking was not good. I had seen a few horses act that way back on Earth, and that was after they had been rescued from this guy who abused them.

"You don't happen to know how they treat their animals, do you, Apollo?"

"I haven't seen them do anything bad, but I have heard that they do not treat their animals kindly. I have also heard that they don't treat their servants any better," Apollo said, looking very serious. "Why do you ask?"

"I have a feeling that those horses may be being abused," I said, frowning in disgust. "I've seen horses act in a similar matter back from my world, and that was after they had been rescued from their abuser. Why people like that want animals in the first place completely baffles me. If you aren't going to look after your animals properly, why get them?"

"There are just some bad people in the world. It makes me that more grateful that the kings and queens are so kind."

"I guess there needs to be some bad in the world to keep everything in balance, as bad as that sounds," I remarked, sighing. "I can't even imagine any of the royals, least of all Lucy, doing anything to mistreat the animals."

"That is very philos-" Apollo suddenly turned his ear to the left; towards the border of the forest.

"Apollo," I asked, sitting up. "What's wrong?

"Don't make any quick movements. Just get on my back like you do all the time," Apollo said really quietly.

I calmly climbed up onto Apollo, but I was feeling a little freaked out; okay, a lot freaked out.

"What's going on?" I asked Apollo again, as he started to calmly walk back to the path that we had taken from the palace.

"Some unknown people have been spotted in the woods not far from here, and I heard strange sounds coming from the forest."

"How do you know that there have been people spotted? Also, couldn't the strange noise just be someone on patrol?" I asked, trusting him on the hearing part since horses have better hearing than humans; plus, I'm half deaf.

"Joanna informed me of the strange people," Apollo said. "And the patrol route doesn't go by this part of the forest."

"Who's Joanna?" I asked, trying to remember if I had seen any animals while we were in the clearing. None came to mind.

"She is a small woodland snake. You didn't see her because she blends in with the grass."

"Oh. So, how come we aren't going any faster if we are trying to put distance between us and those strange people?" I asked, looking behind me.

"I am not sure if any of those strange people have spotted us, so I don't want to draw any attention to us, just in case."

"And if they have seen us?"

"Then we would indicate that we know that they are watching, and they may start to give chase."

"Wow, I'm really glad you know what to do because I am feeling a little freaked out right now," I said, looking over my shoulder again.

Silence fell between us as we both listened for any out of place sounds, as we entered the forest. We had been walking for about ten minutes, when I saw Apollo's ears shoot to the left and felt his body tense even more; as if he were going to bolt.

"You know how to climb a tree right?" Apollo asked me, urgency in his voice.

"Yes," I whispered back, afraid of talking to loud and giving away our position.

"Climb this one," he said, flicking his head to the tree that was beside us, "Quickly."

Not needing to be told twice, I quickly, but as quietly as I could, got off of Apollo, and started to climb the tree; not easy in a dress.

"What about you?" I asked, once I was far enough up the tree, but could still see what was going on below.

"I'll hide," he said, before snapping his head to the sound, which was really close now. "I will come back for you. Don't move until you see me."

Before I could reply, Apollo had left my line of sight. Trying to keep from making noise, I slowly took breaths from my nose, willing myself to stay still. I quickly said a prayer that Apollo had gotten to safety when two figures appeared beneath the tree.

"I thought you said that there was something over here," the figure on the left said, sounding female.

"There was. I heard voices," the other figure said, sounding male. "If we lost them, I am not taking the rap."

"Well, they were just here," the female said, in annoyance, than gestured to the ground. "Look, there are hoof prints."

"Oh, that's great," the male replied sarcastically, "Too bad there are how many different species that have hooves for feet? Come on, you get to tell him why we lost the girl."

I clung to the tree tighter, as I felt all the blood drain from my face. They were looking for me.

"Well, if you hadn't wanted to be sneaky, we wouldn't have lost them," the female snapped, as they walked away from my tree.

I listened hard for the new few minutes, but didn't hear any more noises.

"They are gone."

Clamping a hand over my mouth to keep from screaming, and almost falling out of the tree in the process, I whipped my head to the branch above me. There, sat a rather fat chipmunk.

"I'm sorry for scaring you," the chipmunk said, climbing down to my branch. "Those two humans are gone."

"How do you know?" I asked, trying to get rid of the deer in headlights look that I felt I was now wearing.

"I followed them through the trees."

"Thank you," I said, offering the chipmunk a shaky smile. "My name is Christine. What's yours?"

"Nice to meet you, Christine," the chipmunk said, smiling, "My name is Chippycheeks."

"Chippycheeks," I asked trying not to giggle. "Really?"

"Yes," the chipmunk said, "But you can call me Chippy."

"Okay, Chippy it is."

"Christine," I heard Apollo's voice call from below. "You can come down now."

"Okay," I said, before looking for the best way to get down. "Let's see if I can do this without hurting myself."

Getting into the tree was the easy part for me. Getting out was a different matter. With help from Chippy on where to step, I was soon out of the tree, but my dress was ripped in many different places.

"Let's get back to the palace," I said, jumping onto Apollo. Chippy jumped onto my shoulder.

Apollo gave a quick snort before taking off as fast as he could. We were just about out of the forest, when I felt something whiz by my head.

"What the hell!" I yelled, turning my head to see behind me.

I could see the two figures from before, except now they were on horseback, and were chasing us. One even had a few arrows.

"Apollo!" I yelled, my terror returning.

"Hold on as hard as you can!" he yelled, before quickly leaving the path, trying to lose them in the trees.

As Apollo weaved in and out of trees, I heard arrows that were meant for us, hitting trees. I thanked my lucky stars this person wasn't a great shot. However, my luck was cut short.

My head connected with a low hanging branch when Apollo jumped over a fallen log. Pain exploded in my head, and I felt my hands lose hold of the reins.

BAM!

I hit the ground with a very painful thud. I laid there for a second to get my senses back, when the sound of the two horses quickly reached my ears. Feeling a huge adrenaline rush, I bolted up, and tried to run. However, I had whacked my left knee in the fall, so the best I was able to do was hobble. Not good.

"Did you really think that you could outrun us?" the male human smirked as the pair drew closer.

"Stupid girl," the female sneered.

"You stay away from her!" Chippy squeaked at them from his spot on a tree, trying to look menacing. Unfortunately, he only succeeded in making them laugh.

"Oh no!" the woman cried in fake distress, "It's a chipmunk! What are we going to do?"

"How about I turn him into a shishka bob?" the male said, pointing an arrow at Chippy.

Instead of running away like I expected him to, Chippy just sat there, smirking! "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Annoyed, the guy let the arrow fly, thankfully missing Chippy. The arrow embedded itself into Chippy's tree.

"You stupid, little, ARGH!" the man yelled as he was thrown into the air, dropping his arrows and bow in the process.

I watched as he flew through the air, and landed back on the ground with a sickening crack. The horses reared in terror, dumping the lady onto the ground, before both horses took off into the forest.

"What was that?" the lady yelled at me, after picking herself up off of the forest floor.

"I don't know!" I yelled back, appalled at her behavior.

She didn't even check to see if her companion was dead or not. Well, from the angle of his neck he was most definitely dead, but still! All she did was stand there, yelling at me. Her yells intensified when she was lifted into the air.

I could see that she was being dangled in the air by her leg. What was holding her leg confused me. It looked to be a root. Following the root-like cord with my eyes, I saw that it was indeed a root; a root that seemed to belong to the tree that had the arrow sticking out of it.

"Christine, get on, quickly," Apollo said, watching the lady in the air.

Grabbing Chippy, I quickly scrambled up onto Apollo; my knee throbbing in protest. Once I was properly saddled, Apollo took off, back the way we had come.

"Since when do trees move?" I asked Chippy as we raced to the palace.

"They always move," Chippy said. "You didn't know?"

"Nope," I said, than smiled. "It's nice to know, that way I won't hit them since they can hit me back."

"What do you think my chances are of getting to my room before anyone sees me?" I asked no one in particular, when the palace came into view.

"With your luck, Slim to none," Apollo said, letting out a horsey laugh.

I still felt a little unnerved by what had happened, but no one was seriously injured, which was good.

"We have to tell their majesties about what went on," Apollo said, slowing to a walk.

"Oh, that will be a fun conversation," I said.

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><p>"Hey, guys, there is something I need to – holy crap, it's Aladdin and Jafar!"<p>

Any conversation that had been going on prior to my statement came to a screeching halt as everyone turned, and stared at me. The two guys that I had though were Aladdin and Jafar had a confused look on their faces; Susan looked horrified; Lucy was trying not to smile; Peter, Edmund and Caspian were looking at me with raised eyebrows; and Jenn and Cody looked like they were trying to contain their laughter.

"Why do I get the feeling I just put my foot in my mouth?" I asked, taking in everyone's expressions.

Peter was the first to recover. "Tisroc Miraco, Tarkaans Tasha, I would like you to meet Lady Christine. Christine, this is Tisroc Miraco of Calormene, and his adviser, Tarkaans Tasha."

I just gave Peter a blank look. What the heck was a Tisroc and Tarkaans?

Peter looked at me for a moment, before a look of realization crossed his features. You could practically see the light bulb go off.

"Tisroc is the king, and Tarkaans is like a lord."

Wow. I had just called the King of Calormene Jafar. How smooth was that?

"Pleased to meet you," I said, giving a quick, and very painful, curtsy, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"She's a lady?" the adviser asked, looking at me with disapproval. "I think she needs to be taught how to dress like one. She looks like she was walking through the forest."

"I like to see what you look like after being chased through the forest and falling off a horse," I said, annoyed at his comment. I had had enough excitement for one day, and I wasn't in the mood for some stuck up royal's attitude.

Wrong thing to say.

"What?" said seven voices, in perfect unison.

"Wow," I said, than raised my arms as if conducting a symphony. "And all together again."

"If you would please excuse us, gentlemen," Peter said, looking at the Calormene royals, "It seems there are pressing matters to be taken care of. We shall continue this discussion over dinner."

Once the royals had left, everyone looked at me.

"What I want to know," Cody said as I hobbled over to a chair, "Is how did you fall off of Apollo, and you hit your knee." The last one was more of a comment.

"A tree decided to smack me in the face with one of its tree branches," I said, feeling the massive bump that was starting to form. "And yes, I hurt my knee. I hit it when I fell."

"Is that why your dress is ripped?" Jenn asked. "Do you have a headache?"

"I don't have a headache yet, but I'm sure it's coming. My dress is ripped caused I climbed a tree."

"Christine, maybe you should just start from the beginning," Edmund said.

Nodding, I gave a recap of what had happened in the forest. After I finished, no one said anything for a few seconds.

"So, the tress can move?" Cody asked, completely serious.

Jenn and I both gave him are-you-serious looks before Jenn cuffed him on the head.

"That's the only thing you got out of it?" she asked, completely annoyed.

"Of course not," Cody said, rubbing his head. "I just didn't know that."

"There's something else," I said, trying to remember everything that Aslan had told me. "And I think it has something to do with those two people.

"You saw Aslan?" Lucy asked, looking excited. "Did you tell you why you are here?"

"Yes, he did, and it isn't the best news," I said, picking leaves out of my hair.

"What did he tell you?" Peter asked.

"He said that Jenn, Cody and I are here because of some kind of prophecy. The prophecy goes…

All of Narnia is once again at peace

But that is soon about to cease.

The empire of darkness will rise,

As the light of Narnia slowly dies.

When everything seems dire,

Call upon air, water and fire.

United, these three are strongest together,

And will banish the darkness once and forever.

Aslan told me that the air, water and fire part were about us three," I said, gesturing to Cody, Jenn and I. "I don't know how, but that's what he said."

"Do you think that those two people could be part of this?" Susan asked, looking at her siblings.

"I'm not sure," Caspian said, "but it does sound possible."

"I will send Striker and Pholus out to scout out the area. We may be able to find out more about these people," Edmund said, rising from this throne.

"Good idea, Ed. Until we've figured out who these people are, and why they are here, no one goes anywhere without a guard escort." He looked at Jenn, Cody and I. "If they are after you three, it may be easiest if you just stayed within the castle grounds."

I frowned. Sure, I knew that we needed to stay safe, but being put into castle prison? That seems a little extreme.

The three of us just nodded. Peter was High King, his word was final.

"So, Chris, why did you call Miraco and Tasha Aladdin and Jafar?" Lucy asked when all the discussion was over.

Cody and Jenn started to laugh. I just blushed.

"Aladdin and Jafar are two characters from a movie in my world. They just looked like them."

"Well, I think we had better get you cleaned up before dinner," Susan said, rising from her throne. "We can't have you meeting the rest of the Calormenes like that."

"Can't I just get chased through the forest again?" I asked, feeling about as happy about meeting the other Calormene royals as I would getting a root cannel.

"It won't be that bad, Chris," Cody said, trying to look happy, but the forced smile was completely fake.

"If those two," I said, meaning Aladdin and Jafar, "are any indication of how the other royals are going to act, I would rather not meet them at all."

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><p><strong>So, there you have it folks! The next chapter of Careful What You Wish For. Hoped you liked it. Let me know what you think in a review? Please? <strong>

**Anyways, the next chapter is in the being written stage, so, hopefully, it will be up soon!**


	11. I am Not Jealous

**Hello, again. So, if anyone is actually still reading this story, I would like to send out my sincerest apologies on not having updated in months. I simply lost all interest in this story, and have been trying to find some inspiration again. That has thankfully returned. **

**Now, I would like to say that I am posting a somewhat different version of chapter eleven because as I was going over my previous chapters, I noticed that the idea for the next two chapters has already been taken care of, so I need to rework the coming chapters. Therefore, I need to change things in this chapter, or else people will just be lost. **

**I would just like to thank everyone who has stuck with this story for so long, and again, I am sorry. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia because, well, I'm not C.S. Lewis.**

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><p><strong>Be Careful What You Wish For<strong>

**Chapter Eleven: I am Not Jealous**

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><p>"Are you sure you are alright?" Lucy asked me, for the tenth time.<p>

The present moment found Lucy, Jenn and I sitting on my bed. Susan had gone to find a healer to get something for my headache.

"Yes, Lu. I'm fine. Besides some possible bruises, a sore knee, and a wicked headache, I'm fine," I said, pressing a damp cloth to the cut on my head, trying to dab away at the dried blood.

"I was able to track something down to help with your headache, Christine," Susan said, coming into the room, carrying something in a goblet.

"Thanks, Susan," I said, taking the glass and trying to inspect its contents. All I could see was a green looking liquid. "What is it?"

"I am not sure," Susan said, sitting on my bed. "The healer just gave it to me when I requested something to help with a headache."

"Great," I said, eyeing the goblet in my hand for a few more second before downing the liquid. It tasted really bitter.

"Doesn't taste good?" Jenn questioned, seeing the face that I pulled after swallowing.

"No. It tastes awful, but, then again, anything that helps a person get better isn't going to taste good."

"I still can't believe that you were chased through the woods," Jenn said after a few moments of silence. "That seems to be something that happens only in the movies."

"True, but I am pretty sure this place," I said, gesturing to everything, "would be considered something out of a movie. Actually, more like some kind of fairy tale."

"All we need is for you to fall in love with a prince," Jenn said, grinning. "Then it would really be like a fairy tale."

"Why me?" I asked, "Why not you? Or Lucy? Or Susan?"

"Because I already have Cody," Jenn said. She said it so matter-of-factly, that I couldn't help but smile. "Lucy is already living a fairy tale life, but she could fall in love with a prince, and Susan likes Caspian."

"Well, why wouldn't I like Caspian? He is a good friend," Susan said. I would have thought what Jenn was implying had gone right over her head if not for the fact that she was blushing a bit.

"Really, Su, because the fact that you are blushing indicates something else," I said, smiling. I think Susan and Caspian would make a very cute couple.

"I am not blushing," Susan said, "It is just very warm in here."

Jenn, Lucy and I looked at each other with yeah-right looks.

"Okay, Su, whatever you say," Lucy said, putting an end to the discussion.

Climbing off the bed, I walked over to the mirror to inspect my cut. It wasn't deep enough to need stiches, which means that it wouldn't scar, and all the blood was whipped away. Picking up my brush, I gave my hair a quick run through with it, before throwing it into a ponytail.

"So, Chris, you and Ed seem to be spending some time together," Lucy said, in a tone that sounded weird.

"Yeah, so?" I asked, changing into the first dress that I was able to grab.

"So, I've never seen you spend that much time with a guy who wasn't Cody," Jenn said, looking at me.

"What? Friends can't spend time together?" The trio just looked at me. "Would someone just spit it out?" I knew they were trying to get at something, and I was not in the mood for guessing games.

"Tina," Jenn said, looking really serious, "do you _like _Edmund?"

"Huh?" I was completely caught off guard by that question. "Why would you ask me that?"

"So, is that a yes?" Jenn asked, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"No!"

"Why are you blushing then?" Jenn was enjoying this way too much.

Thankfully, I was saved from answering by someone at the door. Hallelujah.

"Come in!"

A female faun opened the door, and poked her head in. "Please excuse the interruption, your majesties, ladies, but I have been sent to inform you that supper will be served soon. The kings are entertaining the Calormene royals in the dining hall right now."

"Thank you, Aria. We shall be there shortly," Lucy said. The faun, Aria, bowed than left the room.

"Do you two normally get told when supper is going to be?" Jenn questioned.

In the whole time that we have been in Narnia, I couldn't once recall someone coming to tell the queens when supper was going to be ready.

"Not usually," Susan said, standing and smoothing out her dress. "The boys probably just don't want to have to deal with all the royals by themselves."

"Really?" I asked, somewhat amused.

"Yes," Lucy said, rolling her eyes. "I don't think they have much patience when dealing with those royals. They can be quite bothersome."

"Lucy!" Susan said, giving her sister a disapproving look.

"Oh, come on, Su!" Lucy said, exasperated. "You can't honestly tell me that you actually like these royals, especially not after what happened with Rabadash."

"No, I do not care for the royals, but that does not mean that I am going to bad mouth them, even if it is true," Susan said, looking stern, but not as stern as she actually is when scolding someone.

"Who's Rabadash?" Jenn asked at the same time that I asked,

"What happened?"

"We can tell you on the way down to supper," Susan said, shooing all of us out the door.

"During our reign over Narnia, which Narnians' now refer to as the Golden Age, Rabadash, a prince from Calormene, came to the Cair to court me," Susan explained, as we made our way to supper, but not at a very fast pace.

"Court means to be involved in a romantic relationship before engagement," Lucy explained, seeing the confused looks on mine and Jenn's faces.

"He was able to impress, and fool, me," Susan said, continuing with the story. "It wasn't until the return trip that I took to Tashbaan, with Edmund, that I saw that he was a proud, but cruel, man. He intended for me to be his wife, be it by my choice or his force." She paused to take in our reactions. We both looked at her in disgust at the fact that he would try that.

"Well, that obviously didn't happen," Jenn said.

"No. It thankfully didn't," Susan said, smiling. "Edmund and I, along with our party, were able to escape from Tashbaan. Angry, and with a hurt pride, Rabadash led an army to invade, and take over, Archenland. The king at the time was warned about this attack, and was able to escape into Anvard, the capital of Archenland. Rabadash than tried to attack the castle, but was defeated because Edmund, Lucy, Shasta, the person who alerted the king, and some of the Narnian army took them by surprise. Rabadash was captured and was brought before the king's judgment."

"What happened to him?" Jenn asked, when Susan didn't continue. I saw that both Lucy and Susan were smiling.

"It has been said that when Rabadash refused the king's mercy, Aslan transformed him into a donkey," Lucy said, smiling.

"A donkey?" I asked, all the while giggling. Jenn looked very amused as well.

"Yes, a donkey," Susan said, smiling. "He was able to regain his human form, but Aslan had made a condition. Rabadash could not leave a ten mile radius of this temple in Tashbaan, so when he ruled, it was the most peaceful time between the Calormenes."

"So, the saying of what goes around, comes around, really is true," Jenn said. "Who would have thought?"

"Are all Calormenes like that?" I asked to no one in particular.

"Thankfully, no," Lucy replied, "but they can have their moments."

"Wait, what do you mean by when you ruled?" Jenn asked Susan. "Aren't you ruling right now?"

"How about we tell you the story after supper, in the library?" Susan asked, but it was more of a suggestion. We were approaching the doors to the hall."

"Sure."

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><p>"Hey, hop along, how are you feeling?" Cody asked, right when we walked through the doors. Well, more like yelled considering he was sitting at the table, and we were by the doors. I swear, that boy forgets how to use his inside voice sometimes.<p>

"I'm fine, and I'm not a hop along," I said, as we approached the table. "I'm not even limping."

When we reached the table, I noticed that Cody wasn't sitting next to Caspian. Instead, the Tisroc was sitting there. I also saw the Tarkaan, as well as an older female and two younger females; one was about my age, and the other was a year or two older. If I had to guess, I would guess that they were the queen and the princesses. My guess was proved correct when Peter made the introductions.

"Jennifer, Christine, I would like to introduce you to Tarkheena Mariah, and her two daughters, Assiya and Tarleen. Tarkheena Mariah, Assiya and Tarleen, I would like to introduce you to Lady Jennifer and Lady Christine," Peter said, once we were all sitting. Jenn, Cody and I were sitting closer to the end of the table, with the Calormene royals seated between us and the Narnian royals.

The conversations during supper seemed to be split down the table. The Calormenes were having different conversations with Susan, Lucy, Peter, Edmund and Caspian, so that left Jenn, Cody and I to talk.

"Edmund doesn't seem to be having a good time," Cody said, looking at Edmund.

Turning my head, I saw that Edmund was trying to keep some personal space between him and Assiya, who was leaning closer to him as she talked. Edmund was leaning so far over, he was practically sitting in Susan's lap!

Now, a part of me was amused at what I was seeing, but I was mostly annoyed. I mean, was it really necessary to get that close to someone when you are talking to them? I think not. As the three of us watched, I saw her place her hand on his arm. Okay, now she had crossed the line into flirting territory.

'But why do you care?' a little voice inside my head asked.

Why did I care? I cared because he was my friend, and it didn't look like he enjoyed having his personal space invaded.

'Then why are you so aggravated that she is touching him?' the little voice asked again.

I'm not aggravated. I am just annoyed. There is a difference.

'Are you sure? Are you sure you aren't jealous?' the little voice asked in a patronizing way.

I was suddenly brought out of my thoughts by a piece of bread hitting me in the face.

"Was that necessary?" I asked Cody, rubbing butter off of my nose.

"Considering the fact that I've been trying to get your attention for the past two minutes? Yes."

"So, what did you want?" I asked when he didn't say anything after that.

"I just wanted to make sure that you hadn't fallen asleep or something. Also, you were giving your plate a rather intense death glare. I thought I should save it," Cody said, taking a sip of water, while smirking at me.

"What a hero," I said, rolling my eyes.

I picked up the piece of bread that Cody had thrown at me, and threw it right back at him, hitting him between the eyes.

"I have heard many wonderful stories about the beauty of Cair Paravel's gardens. They are said to be even more beautiful at night. Would you like to accompany me for a stroll in the gardens, King Edmund?" Assiya asked, batting her eyes so much, it looked like she had something in them.

"That would be a wonderful idea," the Tisroc said.

Edmund opened his mouth to reply, but I quickly jumped in. "I am sorry, but Edmund, I mean, King Edmund has already made plans for the evening."

"Doing what?" Assiya asked. I noticed that some of the sweetness had disappeared from her voice.

"He has agreed to teach me how to play chess, and I am a very slow learner, so I am afraid that it may take a better part of the evening," I replied smoothly, keeping a straight face. I mentally gave myself a pat on the back for coming up with this.

"That is right. It must have slipped my mind," Edmund replied, going along with my little white lie. "Thank you for reminding me, Christine."

Nodding my head, I knew that the thank you was for something else. Turning to talk with Jenn and Cody, I noticed Assiya shooting me rather nasty looks from out of the corner of my eye. Satisfaction rose in my heart.

'Are you sure that you aren't jealous?' asked the little voice in my head, but I just ignored it.

* * *

><p>"Edmund, what happened with Lady Assiya?" Susan asked, as the Narnia royals, Jenn, Cody and I lounged around in the library.<p>

"What do you mean, Susan?" Edmund asked, not even looking up from the game of chess him and Peter were playing. I was observing the game, and from what I could tell, Peter was winning.

"She looked rather putout near the end of supper."

"I simply told her that I was unavailable to give her a tour of the gardens tonight."

"I wasn't aware that you had any other plans tonight, Edmund."

"Well, according to Christine, I am teaching her how to play chess tonight," Edmund said, looking at me before returning his focus to the game.

Gee, thanks for throwing me under the bus.

"What does that mean?" Lucy asked, looking up from her book.

"It means that he is going to teach me how to play chess," I replied. "After he is finished with his game against Peter."

"You're going to learn how to play chess?" Cody asked, in a way that made it seem like the most ridiculous thing that he has ever heard.

"Yes, I am. What was with the tone?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

I didn't really believe him, but let it go. After what happened today, I just wanted a nice, relaxing evening. I don't know how that is going to turn out since I am now learning how to play chess. Oh well. I just pray that Edmund has lots of patience.

"So, what is the Golden Age of Narnia?" Jenn asked Lucy.

"Well, back about 1300 years ago…"

"1300 _years_?!" was the reaction that came from Cody's mouth. Jenn was stunned, and so was I.

"Yes, that is a long time, but I will explain," Lucy said, before giving us the many tales of how they had come to Narnia once, the Golden Age, and again, to aid Caspian.

* * *

><p><strong>So, what do you think? Like it? Hate it? Meh? Let me know in a review. I am sorry that there isn't much romance going on between Edmund and Christine, but I am taking this story a little slow because I want to make the romance believable. I don't really care for stories that have two characters falling in love with one another after the first three chapters. <strong>

**Anyways, until next time, which won't be as long as this time. **

**Sweet Country Girl**


	12. Nightmares

**So, here is the next chapter for my story. I would once again, like to apologize for leaving this story for so long. I just completely lost interest. Anyways, on to the chapter! **

**Oh, and I made some changes to chapter 11, so I would suggest going and rereading that one first, or else you may be a little lost. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia. Plan and simple.**

* * *

><p><strong>Careful What You Wish For<strong>

**Chapter 12: Nightmares**

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><p>"How could you let her escape?! Is it really that hard for you to catch a simple girl?!" a dark voice boomed out.<p>

The cloaked female flinched at the voice. "We a-almost h-had h-her, M-Master, b-but the s-stupid t-trees interfered." As hard as she tried, she couldn't keep her voice steady.

"Excuses! All you give me is excuses!" The figure that the voice belonged too, moved out from the shadows. Watching the woman shrink away in fear filled the figure with sick satisfaction. A smile that was as cold as ice, spread across the figure's face. "It seems that you have outlived your usefulness."

Sheer terror filled the woman's face. "No! No! Please, Master! I can do better!"

Ignoring the woman's begging, the figure drew close to the female, and placed his right pointer finger right in the middle of her forehead. Not two second later, the woman fell completely unconscious.

"Someone remove this thing from my sight!" the figure yelled out. As two servants removed the body, the figure walked to a stone basin.

"W-what did you do to her?" questioned a hag, staring at the figure on the floor.

"I have given her a fate worse than death. She is now trapped in a place where her biggest, and darkest fears, come true." The figure cackled while walking over to a large stone basin.

"What is your plan now, Master? Shall we try to kidnap one of the others?"

"No, I have a better idea."

The hag regarded her master carefully. He was wearing a smirk that screamed run away as fast as possible. "What do you plan to do?"

The figure didn't answer. Instead, he said some words in a foreign language. The hag was curious as to what was about to happen, and didn't have to wait long. Black smoke started to drift out of the stone basin, and crawl all over the floor

"What…what is that going to do?" the hag asked, stepping back from the curling black smoke.

"It is going to bring darkness and despair, all over Narnia."

* * *

><p>"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for the ball?" Apollo asked, giving me a sidelong glance. "For that matter, aren't you supposed to have a guard too?"<p>

"I just needed some peace and quiet. All those royals are starting to get on my nerves," I replied, plucking some grass out of the ground. "Besides, I don't think anyone will notice my absence for another hour or so."

The palace was so chaotic with final preparations for the ball, that no one was really paying any mind to what I had been up to, which just consisted of trying to stay out of the way. I had finally gotten so sick of all the hustle and bustle, that I saddled up Apollo, and went for a ride, completely disregarding the idea of bringing a guard. It has been three days, and there have been no other signs of the mysterious figures.

"If you say so, young one."

I looked at Apollo, before standing up to pat in neck. "If we get in trouble for this, I will take all the blame, considering this is all my idea anyways. Besides, you can't tell me that you aren't enjoying this."

"You're right, Christine. I am just a little nervous, that is all."

"How about we go back in fifteen minutes?"

"Deal."

A nice, quiet, relaxing fifteen minutes later, I stood and stretched. "So, we should probably get back, just in case someone did notice my absence. As it is, I think I may get a lecture anyways."

"Good idea," Apollo said, rising enough so that I could hop onto his back, before rising to his full height. "You are getting really good with a sword, but I don't think I want to find out just how good."

"Me neither, and I forgot to bring one. " I said, glancing around, feeling sheepish. I started to have a feeling in the pit of my stomach that something very bad was about to happen, though I had no idea what. I mentally kicked myself for not brining a guard along. "Apollo, can you hurry?"

"Do you have a bad feeling too?" Apollo asked, flicking his ear towards me.

"A little bit," I said, feeling more and more uneasy.

We were only walking for a matter of minutes, when Apollo stopped dead in his tracks.

"What is it, Apollo?" I asked, placing my hand on his neck.

"I smell something. It smells like smoke," Apollo said, taking a few deep breaths.

"Smoke? Who would be having a fire out here?" .

"I don't know. Do you want to go check it out?"

"Okay," I replied even though my gut was screaming to run as fast as possible in the other direction. "If it is a fire, we should make sure that it is being managed."

Nodding his head, Apollo started off in search of the smoke that he could smell. After a few minutes of walking, I could start to smell it too. We walked for five more minutes, and by this time, we couldn't just smell the smoke, we could see it too. Coughing, I jumped down from Apollo, not wanting to inhale so much smoke.

"Apollo, you stay here. I will go check it out," I said, covering my nose and mouth with my hand.

Walking farther into the clearing, I could see that there was indeed a fire going; an unmanaged fire that was starting to spread throughout the forest. Alarmed, I quickly turned on my heel and ran back to where Apollo was, wanting to find a way to contain this blaze before it destroyed more of the wood. The smoke was so thick though, that I couldn't see where Apollo was. In fact, I couldn't see three feet in front of me.

"Apollo! Apollo!" I yelled, hoping that he would hear me. However, he never came nor answered.

Coughing, I stumbled to where I thought was the path. As my eyes watered from the smoke, I turned my head to assess the damage.

Very bad idea.

The fire had spread, and grown in height, to twice the size it had been only moments ago. Panic completely filling me, I tried to run, but something was holding me in place. All I could do was watch as the fire before me transformed into a beast that looked like the evil demon that comes out of the volcano in the Disney movie.

I looked at the creature. It looked at me, than gave me the biggest, evilest grin that I've ever seen. I gasped for breath, willing myself to stop shaking, but I was terrified. As I stood frozen in place, I watched as the beast reached for something that was concealed in the smoke.

"You did this, Christine. You brought this upon everyone," the beast said, giving me a toothy grin, before he threw Apollo's burned, dead body in my direction.

I screamed. I screamed out of lose; out of confusion; out of fear.

"NO! APOLLO! Why are you doing this?!" I yelled, tears of anger, confusion and fear running down my face.

"Me?" the beast questioned, looking confused, "I didn't do anything. This is your entire fault. You caused this destruction to happen."

"My fault? I would never allow something like this to happen!" I screamed, "I can't do anything like this!"

"Oh, but you can," the beast sneered, "You can and you did!"

However, before I could reply, I saw movement from the left side of the beast. Turing my head so that I could see better, I felt my heart swell with hope. Jenn, Cody, Edmund, Peter, Lucy, Susan and Caspian were here. They would help me.

"You guys! Help me! Kill this thing!" I yelled, feeling close to hysterical. However, none of them moved. The hope was slowly replaced by fear. Why weren't they doing anything? "You guys?"

"Why should we help you?" Lucy asked, wearing such a cold expression that I felt like she had just punched me in the gut.

"What?" I asked, trying to make sense of what was going on. I could feel the panic rise in me again. Tears started to burn my eyes, not from the smoke, but from the fact that Lucy would even ask me that. "Because I'm your friend!"

"A friend?" Cody scoffed. "A friend wouldn't do this to us!"

"Do what?!" I yelled.

"Cause all this pain and destruction!" Jenn yelled, "You're an evil bitch!"

"I didn't cause this!" I yelled as the tears started to stream down my face. My heart felt like it was having a knife driven into it, over and over. "How could I have caused this?!"

"Now you're going to pay for what you've done!" Peter yelled, ignoring my question.

Roots of dying trees shot up from the ground and snared my ankles and wrists, yanking me to the ground and pinning me there.

"No! Please!"

"They're all dead or dying because of you!" Edmund roared. The sound of dying Narnians filled my ears; their screams of pain.

"You betrayed Aslan!" Susan and Caspian yelled.

That final statement silenced me. My heart had just shattered into a million tiny pieces that were so small there was no way my heart was ever going to be whole again. I would never betray Aslan! As I watched my friends, tears streaming from my eyes, they all looked at me with such hate and disgust. I hadn't done anything to deserve this!

"_Oh, dear one, why did you do this?" _

"I didn't do anything! I swear!" I yelled/pleaded to the voice, which I knew to be Aslans. However, his voice never came again, and all my emotions hit me when I saw my friends turn and start to walk away from me.

"NO! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE! HELP!" I screamed as they disappeared into the burning bush.

"No one is going to help you now," the beast cackled, reaching for me. "Why would they help a traitor like you?"

As he hand closed around my waist, I opened my mouth, and screamed bloody murder.

"LET ME GO!" I screamed, flailing my arms in a desperate attempt to get away, but to no avail.

The beast's hands erupted into a blazing inferno, setting me on fire.

"CHRISTINE! WAKE UP!"

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><p><strong>I'm feeling particularily evil today, which I really shouldn't because of how long I've been away. However, sometimes you need to keep the readers in suspense.<strong>

**I would love to hear any comments that you may have about the chapter in a review. After all, I can't improve my writing skills if I don't get any helpful advice. **

**Thanks for reading!**

**Sweet Country Girl**


	13. Preparing for the Ball (Kind of)

**Hello, one and all. So, I am very sorry for the long wait again. I am the worst updater in the world, but such is life. Anyways, I just want to give a quick shout out to the following people who left me a review last chapter: **

Guest: Here is the update!

Littlekid13: Sorry for the wait. Here is that update. Hopefully, it satisfies your suspense.

Abovethecloudsbetweenthestar s: Well, you have to beg no longer. Philosophizing is fun sometimes. Thank you for all the reviews, and I'm glad you like it.

Is your heart in the game: Oh, thank you so much! Thank you for your advice. I have taken it into my planning, so I hope you are satisfied. I will try to flesh out Jenn and Cody more in the coming chapters.

Smokeymarie: Thanks for pointing out those mistakes. I keep getting them confused, and I tried to fix that mistake this chapter. The nightmare may or may not be intertwined with other things. Just have to wait and see.

**Also, a big thank you to everyone who has been reading this story. I appreciate it so much. I was also in a weird mood when I wrote this chapter, and I feel it is more sentimental in ways. Let me know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Chronicles of Narnia.**

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><p><strong>Be Careful What You Wish For<strong>

**Chapter 13: Preparing for the Ball (kind of)**

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><p>"<em>No one is going to help you now," the beast cackled, reaching for me. "Why would they help a traitor like you?"<em>

_As he hand closed around my waist, I opened my mouth, and screamed bloody murder. _

"_LET ME GO!" I screamed, flailing my arms in a desperate attempt to get away. _

"_CHRISTINE! WAKE UP!"_

Snapping my eyes open, I bolted upright, and knocked my head into something hard.

"Ow."

Turning my head, I saw Jenn sitting on my bed, rubbing her forehead, and Cody, standing a few feet back. Both were in their pajamas.

"That sounded like it hurt," Cody said, coming closer to the bed.

"You think?" Jenn and I said together.

"What are you guys doing in here?" I asked, sitting up and shifting over so that there was room for all of us to sit.

"We could hear you yelling clear across the hall. It's a wonder you didn't wake up the whole castle," Jenn said, sitting beside me while Cody sat by our feet, facing us. "You're shaking like a leaf. What was it that scared you so bad?"

"It was nothing." I said, looking at my hands. I knew that it was stupid to feel embarrassed about this whole thing; after all, you can't control what you dream about; but something was stopping me from telling them.

"Bull-fucking-shit."

"Cody! Watch your language!"

"Sorry, Jenn, but you know that it's true." I looked up to see Cody and Jenn having one of their staring contests. Cody broke his gaze, and turned to look at me, with an expression almost as serious as the one in my dream. "You very rarely talk in your sleep, let alone scream, so whatever it was that you were dreaming about, it scared you to no end." His expression softened. "You know that you can tell us, right?"

"Yeah. I know." I could feel myself fiddling with the blanket. "And you're right. It wasn't nothing, but now that I'm thinking about what I was dreaming about, it seems silly and stupid."

"Tina, anything that makes you feel scared is not silly, and it's not stupid either." Jenn said, wrapping her arm around me. "You know that you can tell us. We won't judge."

She was right. If I couldn't trust Jenn and Cody, who were pretty much my sister and brother, then who could I trust? Taking a deep breath, I started on my dream/nightmare.

"It started off normal enough. Well, as normal as a dream can be. I was with Apollo out in some field. We were headed on our way back to the palace, when Apollo said he smelled smoke. We came across a fire, and I left Apollo to investigate. I found an out of control fire, and I went to try to get back to Apollo. The smoke was so thick that I couldn't see him." I took a shaky breath, trying to let out some of my fear. Jenn rubbed my arm, and Cody squeezed my foot. "I tried to run, but I couldn't. All I could do was watch as the fire transformed into a hideous beast; the one from the Disney movie. He…he reached into the fire, and pulled out Apollo's dead body. He told me that I had brought it upon everyone." I could feel my eyes start to tear. I quickly wiped them away. I felt Cody shift his position on the bed, so that he was on sitting on my other side. I could feel Jenn rubbing one of my hands, while Cody rubbed the other. "And then you guys showed up. You two, Edmund, Lucy, Peter, Susan and Caspian. I asked you guys to help me, but you didn't. You told me that I had caused the fire, and that I had betrayed you all. You called me a bitch and a traitor. You left me there for the monster. Even Aslan left me."

I could feel the tears falling, but I didn't wipe them away this time. I just let them fall. A part of my brain knew that they would never abandon me, but my heart still felt broken. Like someone had just ripped it out of my chest.

"Oh, Tina, we would never leave you." Jenn said, pulling me into a hug.

"We care too much about you, you silly goose," Cody said, trying to lighten the mood.

Letting out a shaky laugh, I looked at them, and I could see the truth in their eyes. Smiling, I whipped away my tears, before pulling them both into a side hug. We stayed like that for another fifteen minutes, before we all started to yawn.

"You guys should go back to your rooms," I said. "Get some sleep."

"Are you sure?" Jenn asked, while Cody let out a big yawn. I chuckled.

"Yes, I'm fine."

They both looked at me, then at each other, and then back to me. I guess they had come to some short of silent agreement because they both rose from the bed. I snuggled down into my blanket, trying to get comfortable. Jenn and Cody moved the blanket so that it was underneath me.

"Did you really just tuck me in?" I looked at Cody and Jenn with raised eyebrows.

"Yes, now shut up and go to sleep." Jenn said, using her no nonsense voice.

"Yes, ma'am." I said, smiling at them as they started towards the door. They were just about to leave before I called to them. "Thanks you." They smiled back, before leaving. Snuggling deeper into the bed, I let the happier feelings push out the rest of that nightmare. I knew that they would never leave me, and neither would the others.

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><p><strong>Jenn's Point of View<strong>

As Cody and I stepped out of Christine's room, I noticed a panther coming down the hallway.

"Is everything alright?" the panther asked, coming to stop in front of us.

"Yes, everything is alright." I replied, feeling Cody wrap an arm around my waist. "We were just talking with Christine."

The panther had a quizzical look on his face, but, thankfully, didn't push the subject. "Alright then. Have a good night." He nodded his head, before continuing on down the hall.

Laying my head on Cody, I felt sleep pulling at me.

"Come on," he said, leading us to his room. "We should get some sleep."

As we climbed into his bed, I couldn't help but think about what Christine has told us.

"Why do you think Tina would dream about us abandoning her?"

"I am not sure," Cody said, wrapping me in his arms, so that I was cuddled up into his chest. "But that will never happen. We both care about her too damn much."

"That's true." I smiled. "She deserves to have someone care about her the way that we care about each other." I looked up into Cody's face, and couldn't help but giggle at his expression. He looked stunned.

"Well, that was going off on a tangent." He started to pet me hair, while he thought. "But you're right. I'm sure she will find someone who really cares about her, if he knows what's good for him. He will have to deal with me otherwise."

Smiling, I gave him a kiss before settling into sleep. "Just don't scare the poor guy too much."

"I won't." I could hear the smile in his voice. "I love you, Jenn."

"I love you too." I replied before allowing sleep to take me.

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><p><strong>Christine's Point of View<strong>

Poke.

"Christine."

Poke. Poke.

"Wake up."

Poke. Poke. Poke.

"Christine. Time to get up."

Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke.

Cracking an eye open, I saw Lucy standing over me. "Morning, Lucy."

"Good morning," she said, walking over to my curtains and flinging them open, letting in the morning sun. "Susan told me to come and wake you. There is a lot to be done before the ball tonight."

Yawning, and rubbing my eyes, I sat up. "Okay, I'm up. Give me ten minutes, and then we can go for breakfast."

"I will go and wake up Jenn and Cody then," Lucy said, smiling. You could feel her excitement for the ball tonight rolling off of her.

"You may need more than ten minutes to get Cody up. Try using a bucket of water. That usually works for me."

"Will do!" With that, she left the room.

I let out a small chuckled. She would do it too. I quickly got ready, which didn't even take ten minutes. All I had to do was change, wash my face and brush my teeth. Susan had mentioned the night before that someone would be helping Jenn and I get ready for the ball, so I didn't bother doing anything with my hair, or putting on much makeup. No sense in doing all that, only to have it removed in a few hours. I had just slipped into a dress, when I heard a shout. Smiling, I poked my head out of the door, just in time to see Lucy exiting Cody's room. She was holding a bucket.

"I got them both." She said, walking back into my room.

"Both?" I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Jenn was with him."

Oh, well, that makes sense then. I quickly ran a brush through my hair, and had just enough time to slip on some shoes, when there was a knock at the door. Opening it, I saw Susan standing there, and she looked a little stressed. When I say a little stressed, I mean, a lot stressed.

"Good. You are awake." Well, good morning to you too. "I need your help and yours to, Lucy.

"Okay. I just need to get some breakfast." I said, stepping out of the door, Lucy following.

"Here," she tossed me an apple. "Come on, there is much to be done." Lucy and I looked at each other, before following her down the hall.

"What happened to the gentle part of her title?" I whispered to Lucy.

"She just gets like this when it comes to having a ball."

Nodding my head, I just took Susan's mood with a big grain of salt.

* * *

><p>Well, boy. When Susan said that there was a lot to do, she wasn't joking. It made me wonder what had actually been done the weeks prior. We spent the better part of the morning, and more than half the afternoon setting everything up.<p>

"I could use a nap right about now," I said, flopping none too gracefully into a chair. The final preparations had just been done. Now, we just had to wait for the ball to begin. "How exactly did your brothers get out of helping?"

Lucy just shook her head. "They offered to take some of the visiting royals on a tour somewhere."

"Wow, they must really hate helping with the ball," Jenn commented, rubbing her feet.

"Lucky ducks." Cody said, earning himself a smack with the towel from Jenn.

"Why are you three still sitting here?" Susan had just walked up, still looking stressed, but not as much. "We have to go get ready."

"But there's still four more hours till the balls supposed to start," I said, looking at her.

"Exactly!" she exclaimed, hands on her hips. Then she turned to Cody. "The boys should be back any minute. You can go meet them, and get ready yourselves."

"Yes, Ma'am!" Cody snapped off a salute. Susan shot him a not so impressed look before hurrying away.

"Thank god she is only like this when it comes to balls," Jenn said. "All that stress can't be good."

"She will calm down once the ball starts," Lucy said, standing up from her chair. "Let's go get ready."

"I still can't believe that it is going to take four hours," I said, standing as well.

"Well, you might need it, Chris." Cody looked at me with a grin.

"Oh, shut up. You would need a whole day."

"Pfft….I am already perfect."

"You might want to be careful, your ego is starting to get to be the size of Texas."

"Okay, you two. That's enough," Jenn said, stepping between us. "Let's go get ready."

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><p>Three hours later, I found myself sitting in front of Jenn's vanity table, getting my hair pulled to no end. I wasn't actually facing the mirror though. Supposedly this dryard was going to make me look stunning, and she wanted it to be a surprise. Jenn had already been done, and was now waiting for me.<p>

"Jenn, you look absolutely gorgeous."

She was wearing a purple floor length ball gown, which had a sweetheart neckline. It also had remarkable beading on the corset, and a few jewels scattered throughout the bottom. **(1) **Her hair had been curled and pinned to the back of her head, with her bangs swept to the side. The only accessory she wore was a fancy headband that had white crystals. **(2) **

"Could you please stop moving your head?" the dryard, whose name was Blossom, asked in a rather annoyed voice.

"Sorry."

Twenty long minutes later, Blossom had finished with my hair, and was now onto my makeup.

"I can….."

"No, you most certainly will not. Queen Susan asked me to do your makeup as well." Blossom snapped, not even letting me finish my sentence.

"What? She doesn't think I can't do my own makeup?" I felt rather slighted by that.

Blossom and Jenn both gave me a look. I rolled my eyes. Okay, so, I wasn't the most girly of girls.

"Okay, okay. If Susan says that you have too."

Nodding, Blossom set to work on my makeup. Ten minutes later, she was finished, and had used more makeup than I normally do. Turning to look at myself, Blossom grabbed my hand before I could get a look.

"First you must put on your dress, and accessories. Then you can look."

"Why weren't you this bossy with Jenn?" I stepped behind the changing screen to slip into my dress.

"Because she actually looks like a girl."

"Whats that supposed to mean?" I asked, stepping out from behind the screen, and turning so that Jenn could zip my dress up.

"Nothing. Nothing." Blossom said, coming up to me with a necklace. The necklace had two silver hearts joined together, and on the edge of the left heart, there were little diamonds. "There, now you can look." She said, after placing the necklace around my neck.

Turning to the mirror, I stopped dead.

"Holy wow," I said, looking at what was my reflection. I could see Jenn's face in the mirror, and she was grinning.

"Tina, you look amazing!"

The girl in the mirror looked, well, pretty. Her hair was curly and down, and her bangs were swept to the side. **(3) **It was simple, yet looked really elegant. Her makeup was applied so that her eyes stood out the most, highlighted with black eyeliner and mascara. There was a light blush added to her cheeks, and her lips had a clear coat of lip gloss. Her dress was a dark pink, strapless dress, that had a few embellishments along the top. The bottom was gathered in different places, with little beads placed in different spots. **(4)**

She didn't look like me at all.

"Is that really me?" I couldn't help it. Blossom was a miracle worker.

"Yes, it is really you," Blossom said, chuckling.

"Thank you, Blossom." I couldn't stop smiling.

"Now if you don't catch someone's eye tonight, then I have lost all faith in men." Jenn said. I just gave her a look. "Don't look at me like that. You need to have more confidence in yourself. Any guy would be lucky to have you."

I knew that I had confidence in myself, but I wasn't confident when it came to the whole flirting/dating thing. In fact, I am a complete chicken shit. I've never had a boyfriend, so I was a complete novice. I was more of the girl that you're friends with, but that's it.

I smiled. "Thanks, Jenn." That was one of the things that I liked about Jenn. She was honest. Not brutally honest like I am sometimes, but she won't lie to you. There was a knock at the door, before Cody entered.

He was wearing black pants, with a dark green tunic. He also had on black boots and a belt around his waist. His hair was messy, but a styled kind of messy.

"Wow, don't you look stunning," he said, looking at Jenn. I noticed Jenn blush, and I couldn't help but smile. They were just so cute.

"Well, you look very handsome yourself," she replied, leaning in to give him a kiss.

I looked away, partly because I wanted to give them a sense of privacy, and also because I was a little jealous. Don't get me wrong, I love that they are so in love with each other, but it can be hard at times to be the third wheel.

"What about Christine? Doesn't she look stunning?" Blossom asked, breaking off their gazes.

Tearing his gaze away from Jenn, Cody looked at me, and his eyebrows met his hairline. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Holy crap. You actually look like a girl," he said.

I threw a pillow at him. "I am a girl, but I know what you mean."

Jenn and I pulled on our shoes, and turned to Cody, who had both his hands out.

"My ladies," he said, bowing. Jenn and I smiled. "I would bring me great pleasure to escort you to this fine occasion."

"Why, it would be our honor, good sir," Jenn said, taking his left hand while I took his right.

"This place certainly has rubbed off on you," I said, as we followed Blossom out the door.

"What can I say? I'm a born gentleman." Cody said it in such a matter of fact way that Jenn and I couldn't help but laugh.

Yes, this was definitely going to be a fun evening.

* * *

><p><strong>So, here are Jenn's and Christine's outfits:<strong>

Jenn's dress: .

Jenn's hair (the left picture): .

Christine's hair (the third picture down): /5757/curly-long-hair-hairstyles/

Christine's dress: /wp-content/uploads/2009/12/prom_dress_wedding_

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><p><strong>I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know that the Pevensies didn't make much of an appearance at all in this chapter, but they will most definitely be in the next one. There will also be more EdmundChristine interaction. **

**Thank you for reading, and I shall see you next time. **

**Sweet Country Girl**


	14. The Ball

**Hello, all my wonderful readers! I am back with a new chapter, and it hasn't even been a month since my last update. I think that is a record for me. Anyways, just a quick thank you to everyone who is reading this, and a thank you to the following people who left a review for the last chapter: **

**Abovethecloudsbetweenthestar s**

**Simenon**

**Daisy54154**

**And now, onto the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Chronicles of Narnia.**

* * *

><p>Careful What You Wish For<p>

Chapter 14: The Ball

* * *

><p>"You know, I think the last time I've seen this many colours all at once, my little cousin had drawn all over the wall with a package of 60 crayons," Cody said, looking around.<p>

Taking my own look around, I had to agree. Never had I seen so many different shades and colours. It looked like a rainbow threw up. The decorations looked spectacular though; thanks to Susan; and everyone looked like they were having fun. Well, mostly everyone. Looking up to the thrones, I could see Edmund and Peter surrounded by girls and women of varying ages; those two didn't look impressed. The ball had only begun fifteen minutes ago, and they were already swarmed. It was pretty funny.

Susan and Caspian were on the dance floor, and Lucy was talking with some fauns. Susan and Lucy both looked amazing, but then, I wouldn't expect anything less.

Susan was dressed in a fitted, strapless, ice blue dress, which had a white crystal belt and had a slit up the side. Her hair was curled, with her golden circlet arranged neatly in her hair. Lucy was wearing a flowing red, spaghetti strapped dress, with a gold sash. Her hair was poker straight, and her silver circlet sat atop her head. Caspian looked handsome in a light blue tunic with some kind of symbol on the front, black pants and his crown sitting on his head. He was also wearing some kind of cloak. I noticed that he was also wearing his sword.

I couldn't help but wonder if Susan and Caspian had intentionally colour coordinated, or if it was just a coincidence. I had found out that Susan and Caspian were courting, so I didn't think it was a coincidence.

"So, how long do these things usually last?"

Turning my head to see who Jenn had addressed the question too, I saw Mia filling a sandwich tray that was located on the table directly behind us.

"They usually last until early in the morning. It mostly depends on when everyone leaves," Mia said, slapping at Cody's hand as he tried to sneak a sandwich before she had them all placed on the table.

"That's seems really straight forward," Cody said, rubbing his hand. Served him right.

"Do you have to work the whole time, Mia?" I asked.

"Yes, but I am glad that Tiffany was able to get the night off. She should be – oh, here she comes now."

I turned my head in the direction that Mia was looking, and saw a girl that was most definitely Mia's daughter, walking towards us. She was wearing a coral coloured dress, and her hair was half up half down, curled.

"Mother, are you sure you don't require my assistance?" Tiffany asked, glancing at Jenn, Cody and I curiously.

"For the last time, Tiffany, no," Mia said, before introducing us; most likely hoping that Tiffany would become distracted. "Tiffany, I would like to introduce you to Christine, Jennifer and Cody. Christine, Jennifer, Cody, this is my daughter, Tiffany."

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Tiffany said, giving a small curtsey.

"It's nice to meet you too," I said, holding out my hand. Hey, if I could get away with not curtseying, I would. She looked surprised for a moment, before shaking it. She also shook Jenn's hand, as well, while Cody gave her hand a kiss on the back of it.

"What?" he asked, noticing the raised eyebrow look that Jenn and I were currently supporting. "I don't know if it's customary to shake a girl's hand, so I went the safe route."

"Well, I have to get back to work. Have a good evening," Mia said, before taking her leave.

"Um, would it be okay if I socialized with you? I don't really know a lot of people who are here," Tiffany said, blushing a bit.

"Sure, you can." I said, smiling. "But I feel like I must warn you, we can be quite…uh…"

"Vocal." Cody said.

"Well, that's more yours and Tina's department," Jenn added, smiling at Tiffany. "They aren't the quietest people in the world."

"But you love us anyways," Cody said, pulling Jenn into a half arm hug. Jenn just rolled her eyes.

Tiffany's eyes suddenly lit up. I could pretty much see the light bulb go off. "Wait, are you the girl who is practicing sword fighting?" She asked, looking at me.

"Um, yeah," I said, a little caught off guard at the sudden question. "Cody and I are handling swords, while Jenn is handling a bow."

"Some of the ladies think that you handling a sword is simply barbaric," Tiffany said, before clapping a hand over her mouth. "I really shouldn't gossip. It is not a nice thing to do."

"It isn't, but I wouldn't necessarily call what you just said gossiping," Jenn said, "I would say you were just telling Tina what people were saying behind their back. Gossiping would be more along the lines of telling people something that may hurt someone elses feelings, or spreading tales that aren't true."

Tiffany nodded. "Yes, I suppose that is true. I think it is quite admirable that you want to be able to defend yourselves."

"Thank you, Tiffany, but it definitely isn't an easy task to accomplish. I'm sure I would get my behind handed to me, if I tried to go against anyone else besides Cody." I said.

"Yeah, well, we could always find out," Cody said, drinking more wine.

"Yeah, how about no," I said, drinking more wine.

"Shouldn't you take it easy?" Cody asked, wearing a huge grin. "After all, it isn't lady like to get drunk."

"For your information, this is only my first drink, and, unlike you, I can handle my alcohol. Besides, it is going to take way more than this to get me drunk." I said, taking another sip just to prove my point.

"Hey, I can handle my alcohol just fine," Cody said, reaching for a third glass. Jenn grabbed his hand instead.

"Come on, Cody. Let's go dance," she said, waving to Tiffany and I before dragging him onto the dance floor.

"Well, you certainly do bicker a lot," Tiffany said.

"Sorry about that," I said, shooting her an apologetic look. She just laughed.

"Oh, do not worry. It was rather entertaining to watch."

I had to laugh. "Yeah, but you don't have to put up with it all the time. I am surprised that Jenn hasn't hung us from a tree yet."

"She does seem to have some patience. At least, that's what I've heard, anyways."

"Hey, Tiffany, why are all those girls crowded around Peter and Edmund?"

Looking at the pair, Tiffany shook her head. "Every ball that their majesties put on, all these different royal ladies try to get the attention of the two kings. This mostly consists of them talking their ears off all night. I think they are just too polite to tell them to go away. Well, Peter is. I haven't actually had a chance to talk with King Edmund, and if I may be frank, he kind of scares me."

I tried to hide my smile. "Oh, King Edmund isn't that bad. I think he is all bark and no bite." I paused for a second. "Okay, he is some bite. I agree with you about Peter being polite. Plus, you can't really tell a visiting royal to go away, since that wouldn't be good."

Tiffany giggled a bit. "Yes, I suppose that is true. Do you interact with King Edmund a lot?"

"Yeah, him, Peter and Pholus, if the other two are busy, are the ones who are training Cody and I with swords. They can be, no, they are, strict teachers, but they mean well."

"I wouldn't really expect anything different from Narnia's finest swordsmen," Tiffany commented. Just then, a new song came on. "Oh, I love this song." She started to bob her head to the music.

"Why don't you go dance?" I suggested, noticing her head bob.

"But I don't have a partner," she said, looking confused.

"Then teach the dance to me."

She thought about it for a few seconds, before nodding her head. "Okay, but we should stay to the outside, since we will just get in the way."

"That's fine."

And so, Tiffany tried to teach me the dance.

It failed miserably, but was quite fun.

* * *

><p>"Well, I would say that this ball is a success," I said, sitting in the chair beside Lucy, who was talking with Susan. The ball had been in full swing for roughly three hours, and didn't look like it was stopping anytime soon.<p>

"Yes, which is wonderful," Susan said. "I was a little worried."

"You would think that after all the years of balls that you have coordinated, you would not be worried every time," Lucy said, smiling at me. "So, are you enjoying your very first ball?"

"It's great! My feet hurt, but other than that, it's great!" I had never danced so much, and my feet were protesting loudly.

"You look amazing, by the way," Susan said, looking at me. "Very lady like. I am surprised that more men haven't asked you to dance, if I may say so."

"Thanks." I said, smiling. "Blossom did a great job. You two look completely stunning. As for the dancing part, I don't really care. I'm having fun dancing with whomever."

"I think they may just be intimidated by you," Lucy said. I raised my eyebrows in question. "What I mean, is that some of them saw you and Cody sparring the other day, and I do not think they know what to make of that. Aside from Susan and I, not many other females fight in combat."

"And that makes me intimidating? Guys are so confusing."

"That they are," Susan said, before something caught her attention. "And here come two of the most confusing guys."

Lucy and I turned our heads, and saw Peter and Edmund making their way over.

"Finally able to escape the masses, I see," I said, once the pair had come within earshot.

"I do not think I will ever be able to understand the female's capacity to talk," Peter said, "How do you do it?"

"Do you really expect us to tell you one of our secrets?" Lucy asked, eyebrows raised.

"I don't even think they know, Pete," Edmund said, rolling his eyes.

"Did you two want something?" Susan asked.

"We just came to see how our lovely, beautiful sisters were doing," Edmund said, ruffling Lucy's hair a bit.

"And Christine isn't?" Lucy asked, giving Edmund a look.

"No, no, no. That is not what I meant," Edmund said, holding up his hands. What did he expect me to do? Attack him? I just started to laugh.

"It is fine, I know you didn't mean it like that," I said, waving my hand. "If you will excuse me, I need some air."

Stepping out onto the balcony, I let the cool breeze blow gently across my face. It felt really nice and soothing. There were just too many people packed in one room, and the heat was a bit stifling. Hearing footsteps, I turned my head to see Edmund walking outside.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked, standing beside me.

"Hhhmm…do I want to be joined by a person who just called me ugly?" I asked, teasingly. "Oh, I supposed so."

"You know that I didn't mean it like that," he said, leaning against the railing. "You actually do look very pretty."

"Well, thanks. You look quite dashing yourself."

He did too. He was wearing a dark blue tunic, with black leggings and black boots. He also had a blue cloak, and carried his sword. Along with his silver crown, he looked sharp.

"Dashing?" This was followed by a raised eyebrow and smirk.

"Oh, don't go getting a big head now. Your crown won't fit."

"I can just get it re-sized. I've had to before."

I just rolled my eyes. Looking at the sky, I could see a full moon, and many stars. The weather wasn't quite cold yet, but there was the coolness that told of the leaving summer and coming fall. Looking out, Narnia was so peaceful and beautiful. It made my stomach twist to think that some unknown person wants to ruin this peace.

"Your face is going to freeze like that."

"Huh?" Was the very intelligent answer that came out of my mouth. Bringing myself back to the present, I looked at Edmund, who was looking at me with a smirk.

"I said that your face is going to be permanently stuck in that position."

"You know, my mom used to tell me the same thing when I would make silly faces in the mirror."

"Why exactly were you making silly faces in the mirror?" I could hear the amusement in his voice.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I was bored, and easily amused as a child. Besides, if you can't laugh at yourself, then you are taking life way to seriously."

"This is true, this is true."

"Has Caspian ever forgiven you for the prank you pulled on his last week?" I don't think I've ever seen Caspian so mad, but it was hard to be serious while small spiders were crawling all over him.

Edmund laughed. "Yeah, he got me back by putting itching powder in my armor. Worst practice session ever." I couldn't help but laugh. "I wouldn't laugh if I were you. I know where to get more of those spiders, and judging by the way you were keeping as far away from Caspian as possible, I would bet my crown that you don't like spiders too much."

I glared at him. "You do that, and I will never speak to you again."

He held his hands up. "Okay, I won't torment you with spiders. I just find it funny that you were scared of something so small."

I huffed and folded my arms. "Yeah, well, I bet if you had a traumatic experience with spiders when you were little, you wouldn't like them either."

"You know that you are acting like a five year old, right?" Edmund asked, raising an eyebrow, all the while smirking. I'm surprised his face hasn't frozen in that position yet.

"Takes one to know one." This just made Edmund laugh. Exhaling through my nose, I turned and started to walk back into the palace. I could feel myself starting to smile, I didn't want to let Edmund see. "I think I will just leave you out here." I kept up my annoyed act. I could hear him chuckling as he followed. We had just gotten inside, when he sped up so that he was blocking my path.

"Would you like to dance?" he was holding out his hand, and giving me smile.

"What?" My act of annoyance went out the window when I heard the completely random question. Talk about coming out of the blue.

"I said, would you like to dance?" he enunciated every word, as if I was hard of hearing or something.

I felt myself blush a bit. "I heard what you said, it was just kind of random."

Edmund raised an eyebrow. "Yes, because it is so random to be asked to dance at a ball."

"Oh, shut up. You know that's not what I meant." I gave him a smirk. "If I agree to dance with you, will you quite teasing me?"

"No," he said, giving me a smile. I blinked. Well, you had to admire his honesty.

"Eh, what the heck," I said, taking his hand. "I haven't stepped on your feet in a while." I gave him a cheeky grin as we lined up with the other couples on the dance floor.

"Yeah, let's try to avoid that," Edmund said, grimacing.

"Well, you could dance with someone else," I said, looking over his shoulder, and smirking. "I'm sure Assiya would love to take my place considering the death glare that I'm getting." Edmund just shook his head, not even bothering to turn around.

The music started, and we began to move around the floor. It turns out that the dance was one of those dances where you switch partners. After Edmund spun me, I found myself dancing with Peter.

"You should get a medal," he said, when we started dancing again.

"For what?"

"For getting my brother to dance," he said. "That is something really impressive."

I raised an eyebrow. "Does he not normally dance?"

Peter shook his head, smiling. "The last time he danced with a girl, she got it in her head that he was courting her."

"Well, that doesn't sound completely horrible." Peter burst out laughing at my statement.

"She was fifteen years his senior, and was the biggest gossip in all of Archenland."

I burst out laughing. "Okay, now I can see where he is coming from. I'm pretty sure it would take more than one dance for something like that to happen."

"Well, you never know." And with that vague comment, we switched partners again. I found myself back dancing with Edmund.

"What's got you so smiley?"

"Oh, nothing," I said, giving him an innocent look. "I just heard a very amusing story from your brother."

Edmund scowled at bit. "What did Peter tell you?"

"Just that you had a woman fifteen years older than you thinking that you two were courting after one dance." I said it in a way that made it seem like the most normal thing in the world. Seeing Edmund's horrified expression, I started to giggle.

"It isn't funny!" Edmund exclaimed, trying to suppress a shudder.

"Oh, come on. It is a little amusing."

"That's because it has not happened to you."

"So, you never really danced with anyone after that?" I tried to change the topic a bit.

"You could call that my traumatic spider moment," Edmund said, grinning.

"So, makes you think I am any different?" I tried to be completely serious about the question, but the look Edmund gave me had be smiling.

"Because you aren't completely crazy."

I raised my eyebrows. "Completely?"

Edmund smiled. "Well, you're still a little crazy at times."

"Pfft. I'm only crazy because of you."

"And how exactly did I make you crazy?"

"Have you met you?"

We looked at each other before bursting out laughing. Thankfully, we were able to get ourselves under control right before the song ended.

"Thank you for the dance, my lady," Edmund said, kissing the back of my hand.

I gave him a small curtsey. "Why, you are most welcome, your majesty."

Laughing, I walked over to an empty table in order to take of my shoes. I had just taken a seat, and was currently relieving my poor feet of the shoes, when someone sat in the chair beside me. Sitting up, I came face to face with the Tisorc.

Well, this can't be good.

"Hello, can I help you with something?" I asked, giving him a smile.

"Yes, actually, you can." He said, wearing a really fake smile. "You can stay away from King Edmund."

"Excuse me?" Smile dropping from my face as my eyebrows met my hairline. What is with all the random comments today?

"I said, stay away from King Edmund," the Tisorc said, smile leaving his face. "He is to be wed to my daughter, and I will not have anything ruining that." His eyes looked me up and down, as a sneer came across his face. "Especially, not some peasant girl."

Peasant girl? Who the hell does he think he is? I folded my arms, as my voice took on a frosty tone. "Oh really? And, does King Edmund known that he is to be wed to your daughter? Perhaps I should go inform him."

The Tisorc leaned in, as if to intimidate me. He did a bit, but hell would freeze over before I told him that. "Look, girl, I don't like people ruining my plans and you are a big nuisance. I'm sure you wouldn't want anything happening to that pretty face of yours."

I felt my eyes burning with anger. "Are you threatening me?" It took a lot of control to keep my voice down. "Because I don't take well to threats."

A sick smile made its way onto his face. "Oh no. I make promises, so you will do well to head it."

"Well, you will just have to keep that promise then, because I will not stay away from Edmund."

Stupid, stupid, stupid was what the logical part of my brain was currently screaming at me, but I was so annoyed at the moment that I didn't care.

"You will regret that. Mark my words," the Tisorc said before getting up and leaving.

"You know, that may not have been the smartest move." Turning my head, I saw Striker coming out from under the table.

"I know." And I did know that it was incredibly stupid to challenge the Tisorc like that, but he needed to be told off. "Were you there the whole time?"

"I heard the first part of your conversation, and snuck under the table to hear the rest without being seen. We need to tell their majesties about this."

"Do you really think he would actually try to harm me?" I started to feel a little bit afraid now.

"I am not sure, but I do not want to leave it to chance."

"Can we tell them about it tomorrow? I don't want to ruin their night."

"Yes, but I will stay with you tonight, just in case."

"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." I said, banging my head lightly on the table each time.

Me and my big mouth that I can't seem to control. I really need to get a better handle on my temper. Maybe then, I wouldn't get myself into the situations.

* * *

><p><strong>This is one of my longest chapters yet! <strong>

**So, what do you think? Let me know in a review! **

**Until next time!**

**Sweet Country Girl**


	15. A Good Morning Goes Bad

**Okay, this is probably going to be the quickest that I will ever update, but I was in the writing mood and I didn't want to lose it. My Spring Break is also over, so I decided to get out one more chapter before I started back to school. **

**I hope you guys liked the last chapter. I haven't gotten any feedback from it, so I am hoping. I know it may not have been the best, and truthfully, I wasn't 100% happy with it, but I wasn't sure how to write it another way. **

**Important: If you have already read this chapter, then just skip to the bottom because I have an important announcement. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Chronicles of Narnia**

* * *

><p>Careful What You Wish For<p>

Chapter Sixteen: A Good Morning Goes Bad

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><p>"You know that you need to tell their majesties about what happened," Striker said, sitting beside the door.<p>

"I know. I know." I sighed, running my fingers through my hair.

It was the day after the ball, around late morning. Aside from my confrontation with the Tisorc, nothing else had happened for the rest of the night. Thank God, or I guess it would be thank Aslan. I was currently hiding out in my room.

Really brave, huh?

I knew that I needed to go tell at least one monarch of what happened last night, but to be completely honest, I didn't want to because I didn't want to cause them any inconvenience. I had been unable to keep my mouth shut, and, once again, I landed myself in hot water.

Letting out a grunt, I flopped onto the bed. "This day just started, and I want it to be over already."After laying on my bed for another five minutes, I sat up. "Okay, enough hiding. Let's go tell someone."

"If it makes you feel better, you did not do anything wrong," Striker said, walking beside me. Thankfully, he didn't add anything else to that sentence.

"Excuse me," I said, stopping a passing guard. "Do you happen to know where any of the monarchs are?"

"King Peter, King Caspian and King Edmund are currently in a meeting. Queen Susan is at the training yard with Lady Jennifer and Sir Cody. Queen Lucy is in the library." I was a little surprised at the fact that the guard knew where every single monarch was. However, I nodded my thanks before hurrying away, Striker following close behind.

"I am going to go talk to Lucy," I told Striker, making my way to the library "You don't have to constantly follow me, you know." Striker just gave me a look saying that I was completely crazy.

"You were just threatened by the Tisorc, one of the meanest people here, and you are actually telling me that I don't have to follow you?" the tone in his voice clearly showed his disapproval. "I am not leaving you until we get this figured out. There are other guards that can cover my shifts."

"Thanks, Striker."

Arriving at the library, I pushed open the doors and looked around. I quickly spotted Lucy's head poking above one of the couches in front of the fire.

Hearing my approaching footsteps, Lucy turned her head. "Oh, hello, Christine." She gave me a beaming smile, placing the book she had been reading aside.

Taking a seat beside her, I tried to calm myself a bit. I had no idea why I was so nervous. Taking a deep breath, I looked at Lucy, who was now looking at me with concerned look on her face. "I may have done something pretty idiotic."

"What is it?" she asked, turning to give me her full attention.

"Last night at the ball, I was sitting down, giving my feet a rest, when the Tisorc sat down beside me. He pretty much told me that I needed to stay away from Edmund because apparently his daughter, Assiya, is going to marry him. I had asked him, in a not to kind voice, if Edmund knew about this. That is when he tried to intimidate me, and told me that he didn't like what a nuisance I was being. Then he said that he was sure that I didn't want anything happening 'to my pretty face'. I asked him if that was supposed to be a threat, and he told me that it was a promise. Now, I really hate being told who I can interact with, and I let my anger get the better of me. I told him that he was just going to have to keep that promise then because I wasn't going to stay away from Edmund."

Having completed my short tale, I looked down at my hands, to ashamed to see Lucy's face. After a few moments of silence, I glanced up to see why Lucy wasn't saying anything. Her face was tense, mouth pinched into a thin line and eyes showed a little fire.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause such a problem." I said, looking at my hands again.

"Oh, Christine," Lucy said, giving me a quick hug. "This is not your fault, and I am not mad at you. I am mad that the Tisorc would demand that you stay away from my brother. I am even more upset about the fact that he threatened you." She rose from her chair. "Come. We need to tell Susan. Caspian and my brothers are in a meeting, so we shall tell them later"

"So, you aren't even a little annoyed at the fact that I said something really stupid?" I couldn't help but ask as we walked with Striker.

"No." she paused. "I will admit that it was not the smartest thing to do, but from what I have seen of you, and how well I know you, you do not take someone trying to bully you very well. That is how the Tisorc gets his way. He bullies people, so I cannot blame you for saying what you did." Lucy smiled. "Between you and me, both Peter and Edmund, but mostly Peter, have said things far worse to the Tisroc."

Hearing that made me feel much better. At least I wasn't the only one who didn't put up with him. "Well, I can see Peter saying something, but Edmund? He seems like such a level headed person when dealing with other royals."

"He is, most of the time, but there are some things that you do not threaten Edmund with. It just does not go over well. Trust me when I say, you do not want to see my brothers when they are really mad."

"I don't think I would want to see what any of you guys are like when you are mad. Susan can hit anything dead on with her bow, and Peter, Edmund and Caspian are really skilled at swords." I looked at Lucy, seeing her looking at me. "I haven't seen you fight yet, but I'm sure you are also a force to be reckoned with. After all, Aslan wouldn't give you the title Queen Lucy the Valiant for nothing."

"Well, it has been a while since I've actually had to do it, but I am quite good at throwing daggers." I felt like my eyes were about to pop out of my head. Lucy laughed, spotting my expression. "What?"

"I just never pictured you as the type to throw daggers. I thought you would do bow and arrows like Susan."

Lucy smiled. "I think that having someone underestimate you is the biggest mistake that person can make. You know, don't judge a book by its cover."

"That is so true." I smiled too. "As for the dagger throwing, that is definitely something I would pay to see." Lucy just smiled, shaking her head.

Stepping outside, we made our way to the training grounds. I could see Susan, Jenn and Cody close to the archery area. I also spotted the Tisorc dueling with someone, and that someone looked to be taking a beating. My heart went out to the poor person that had to be his practice dummy.

"Good morning, Christine," Susan greeted me, before looking to watch Jenn hit a bulls eye. "Wonderful shot, Jenn. You are really improving."

"Thanks, Susan." Jenn said, notching another arrow. "Morning, Lucy. Morning, Tina."

"Morning, Jenn." Lucy and I said.

"We missed you at breakfast this morning, Christine," Susan said.

"I wasn't hungry," I said, watching Jenn let fly another arrow. This one wasn't quite a bulls eye, but very close.

"Hey, Chris, want to come do a little sparring with me?" Cody asked, standing up. "I need to do something, and Jenn is hogging the bow and arrows." He threw Jenn a teasing grin, with which she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Sure, but try not to stab me."

"Sure," Cody said before we turned and walked to the training ground. Striker was busy talking with Lucy and Susan. They were talking too quietly for me to pick up what they were saying.

"What's the matter with you?" Cody asked, once we reached the armory, retrieving the wooden swords.

"What makes you think anything is the matter?"

He just raised his eyebrows. "Well, for one, you just deflected the question, and two, you have a sense of doom and gloom about you. Now spill."

I silently cursed that I was so easy to read and that Cody was actually having a perceptive day. "I may have challenged the Tisroc, after he threatened me."

Cody stopped dead in his tracks. "He what?!" He said it so loud that some people were giving us strange looks.

"Would you keep it down?" I hissed. Looking towards the training area, I saw that the Tisorc was still there. Crap. "Come on, let's go practice in the other training area." The other one was on the other side of field.

Looking to where I was looking, I saw Cody's expression change. His face currently held determination, and right now, I knew that wasn't good.

"No, Cody, don't-" but he was already jogging towards the Tisorc.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Picking up my dress, I raced after him, trying to catch him before he did something stupid.

"Cody, don't do this," I said, grabbing onto this arm once I caught up to him at the fence. He just shook me off before hopping the fence.

* * *

><p><strong>Cody's Point of View<strong>

Shaking off Christine's hand, I hopped the fence so that I could get at the Tisroc. My blood was steaming. You never, ever threaten Jenn or Christine.

'You can't hit him' whispered the little logical voice inside my head. I knew that I couldn't hit him, unless he hit me. Oh, I hoped he would hit me.

"What is this I hear about you threatening my friend?" I asked, marching up to the Tisorc. He turned to face me, dismissing his opponent, wearing the biggest sneer I've ever seen. Oh, how I wanted to wipe that look off his face.

"It is not nice to go around spouting false accusations, boy."

I narrowed my eyes. "Are you calling Chris a liar?"

"Cody, just let it go." I heard Christine say from beside me.

I ignored her, focusing of the Tisorc. From the moment I met him, I've never liked him.

"I call them like I see them," he said, shooting Christine a rather nasty look. I stepped up to him so that we were standing toe to toe.

"And why would she need to lie about that?" I hissed, balling my hands into fists.

The Tisorc smirked, and spoke low enough for only Christine and I to hear. "Maybe because she fancies King Edmund, and wants to drive a wedge between him and Assiya?"

"Well, from what I've seen, Edmund doesn't fancy your daughter at all, and Chris would be way better for him than Assiya anyways." I smirked, feeling a little satisfaction at being able to get under the Tisorc's skin. He was so mad, that I could see a vein throbbing in his forehead. "But then, I can't blame her for the way she acts. After all, it was how she was raised."

BAM!

Stumbling back, I felt blood start to poor from my nose as pain blossomed around it. Surprised, I stared as the Tisorc charged towards me, trying to clear my vision of the tears that had just formed. I felt something slam into the side of me, knocking out of the ragging Tiosrc's path. As if in slow motion, I watched as the Tisorc's fist made contact with Christine's face, sending her stumbling.

I felt any control I had left, snap. Jumping to my feet, I ran at the Tisorc. The only thing going through my head was that I wanted to hurt him. However, before I could land a hit, something else knocked me to the ground, and pinned me to the ground.

"What is Aslan's name is going on here?!" yelled a voice to my left. Looking, I saw Peter and Caspian standing on the other side of the fence, both looking severely pissed off. Looking up, I saw a leopard.

"I will only let you up if you are calm," the leopard said.

"I will be," I said before sitting up. I saw that Edmund was standing in front of the Tisorc, sword drawn. That's when I noticed that the Tisorc also had his sword in his hand.

"Here," a voice said. Looking, I saw Chris beside me, holding a piece of cloth. "Stop your nose bleed."

Taking the cloth, I pressed it to my nose, wincing when it made contact. Yup, my nose was no doubt broken.

* * *

><p><strong>Edmund's Point of View<strong>

"I am glad that the meeting did not go on long because it is too nice of a day to be cramped inside," I commented, enjoying the last few warm days of summer.

"It was a discussion about a little piece of river, how long did you expect it to take?" Caspian asked. Peter and I burst out laughing, which caused Caspian to give us a funny look.

"Well, the last time we had a discussion about 'a little piece of river', it took five hours to settle."

"But that was mostly because the two beavers couldn't come to an agreement," Peter said.

A leopard, Sparticus, suddenly appeared in front of us.

"Pardon the intrusion, your majesties," Sparticus said, bowing, "but their seems to be some trouble by the swordmanship area."

Looking towards the area, I saw that the Tisorc, Cody and Christine were all standing close together. It looked like there was an agreement going on. Keeping my eyes on the trio, we made our way to the area. We started to sprint when the Tisorc punched Cody in the face. Nearing the area, I saw the Tisorc punch Christine in the face when she tried to help Cody. As she went stumbling, I saw him pick up his sword. Jumping over the fence, I pulled my own sword, and placed the tip in front of the Tisorc's face. Not looking away from the Tisorc, I heard Peter ask what was going on.

"Lower your sword," I said, voice low. "Now."

Sheathing his sword, the Tisorc raised his hands a bit. "I was only trying to defend myself after these two came at me."

I narrowed my eyes. "That's not what I saw. You threw the first hit."

"That bastard came up to me throwing around accusations and questioning my daughter's upbringing," he spat, pointing a finger to where Cody and Christine stood.

I could see that Cody was holding a cloth to his nose, and there was a bruise already forming below Christine's eye. Feeling anger, I quickly sheathed my sword before I did something I would regret.

"Watch your mouth," Caspian snapped.

"What exactly were these accusations?" Peter asked, coming to stand in the arena.

"They came up to me, saying that I had threatened the lady's wellbeing, which is completely false." The Tisorc crossed his arms in annoyance. "I deserve an apology."

I turned to face Christine and Cody, both were practically steaming at the ears. "Is this true?"

"Yes and no," Christine said, glaring at the Tisorc. "Yes, we said that he had threatened me, and no, it is not false."

"And for what reason would I have to threaten you?" the Tisorc took a step forward, but kept his voice light. I matched his step, keeping myself between him and Christine.

"Because you want your daughter to marry Edmund," Christine said, crossing her arms. "And you thought I was going to get in the way of that."

I glared at the Tisroc, frowning when he started to laugh.

"Oh, I would love to see you prove this." He sneered at her before looking at me. "You are the Just King, therefore, you know that without proof, this is just a he said she said thing."

I felt my glare intensify a bit. "Yes. I know that." I was angry now. I turned to face Christine, and I noticed that Jenn, Lucy, Susan and Striker had joined us. "Christine, do you have any way to prove that he threatened you?"

"I heard everything he said to her, your majesty," Striker said, coming forward and bowing. "He did indeed threaten Lady Christine if she didn't stay away from you."

"Thank you, Striker." I said, nodding at the tiger before turning to look at my brother. He nodded his head, already knowing what I was going to say. I turned to face the Tisorc. "You have until this evening to collect your family, and be out of the palace."

The Tisorc's mouth fell open in outrage. "You can't kick me out!"

"We can, and we are." Peter said, coming to stand beside me. "You are no longer welcome here. You threatened one of our subjects, you threaten us. Pack your stuff and be gone by this evening."

Looking at us, the Tisorc smirked. "Fine. We will leave." With that, he turned and made his way back to the palace, Striker and Sparticus following him.

Running a hand through my hair, I couldn't help but ask Aslan how a good day can go bad so quickly.

* * *

><p><strong>Christine's Point of View<strong>

Watching the Tisorc walk away, I let out a quiet breath before turning to inspect Cody's nose. It was swollen and turning blue. Judging by the angle, it looked broken.

"Why did you try to help me?" Cody asked, "Did you lose your common sense."

"No, it just went to look for yours."

We stared at each other before bursting out laughing. This seemed to break most of the tension.

"You two need a nice padded cell to stay in. Maybe then you can keep out of trouble," Jenn said, coming to examine Cody's face. She was smiling though.

"I can heal those with my cordial," Lucy said.

"Mine is just going to be a bruise, so don't waste it," I said, "but you should probably heal Cody's."

"I'm fine," he said. Jenn raised her eyebrows, before lightly flicking him on the nose. He made a sound of pain, covering his nose. "Yes, you do need it." Cody grumbled a bit, but nodded.

Making our way back inside, I couldn't help but think that this must be some kind of record. It wasn't even the afternoon yet, and the day had taken a sour turn already.

* * *

><p><strong>So, that is the next chapter. I decided to put more action in it, since my story seems to be lacking in that department a lot. For that I apologize, but I swear there was a reason for this chapter, and all the others. <strong>

**Anyways, thanks for reading.**

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT NOTE<br>**

**Hello, to all my lovely readers. So, I wasn't sure how to make this announcement, as putting another chapter just for an author's note is against the rules, so I just decided to just put it at the end of this chapter. **

**Anyways, I am seriously considering rewriting this entire story. I feel like I could do a much better job at writing this out then what I have been. Thus, I reread what I've posted, and I've found things that just don't sit with me. I've also found some things that weren't consistent, and I just didn't like other aspects. **

**I would also like to apologize for not updating in over a month. My reason for this is that I've had midterms this whole time, and they have taken up all my time. **

**Anyways, thank you for reading this. **

**May He bless you always. **

**Sweet Country Girl**


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